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W57

PUBLIC LIBRARY

FOPT WAYfVE & ALL-. A- CO.. IND.

Lr^iU

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

3 1833 02806 9455

l3c 977.2 W57

Whicker, John Wesley, 1S63-
Historical sketches of the
Wabash Valley

J. WESLEY WHICKEE.

HISTORICAL SKETCHES

OF THE

WABASH VALLEY

BY J. WESLEY WHICKER

ATTICA. INDIANA

1916

REPRINTED FROM THE ATTICA LEDGER
AND PUBLISHED FOR PRIVATE CIR-
CULATION BY THE AUTHOR

COPYRIGHTED 1 91 6

f ^ %^-^ %. * ^ FOREWORD

\V^^^^-

OCAL history is seldom appreciated at its full value by the contemporary
generation and the local historian usually has a thankless job. Famil-
iarity tends to breed contempt and so it comes that we often fail to
appreciate the historical value of what is going on about us all the
time. When the years have passed and we finally realize how valuable
it v/ould have been had some accurate record been kept of events as they
transpired it is usually too late to right the oversight.

Occasionally a man arises who has the historical instinct and takes a per-
sonal delight in unearthing and preserving the history, folk lore and legends
of preceding generations. Such a man is J. Wesley Whicker, the author of the
sketches that are printed in this volume.

The year 1916 being the centennial of Indiana's statehood, brought forth
more than usual interest in Indiana state history, and knowing of Mr. Whicker 's
interest in and study of the history of the Wabash Valley, it was suggested that
he write a series of articles for publication in The Attica Ledger. He readily
acquiesced and as soon as they began to appear they attracted wide attention,
being very extensively reprinted by other papers in western Indiana and eastern
Illinois. The intention had been at first to make them only local in scope, but
many of the incidents narrated were interwoven with larger incidents and almost
before he was aware they had extended until they covered the greater part of the
central Wabash Valley. As appreciation of his work grew there arose a demand
that the sketches be put into permanent form and it is to meet that demand that
this volume is printed. The issue is limited to two hundred copies, many of which
will find a resting place in local libraries thruout the state.

The sketches appear just as they did in the columns of The Ledger, and were
often prepared hurriedly amid the press of other business, so that the literary
critic may find in them much to criticize. However, since they reflect the
intimate life of the people that developed one of the finest sections of the
United States the critic will also find in them much of literary value in addition
to their worth from the historical standpoint.

The author, Mr. Whicker (sometimes spelled Whickcar), is a well known
lawyer of Attica, Indiana. He was born and reared a few miles east of this
city, not far from the old town of Maysville, the first town of consequence in
Fountain county, but now only a memory. He is a typical Hoosier, born in a
log cabin during the great Civil war (1863). After more than the average vicis-
situdes of the youth of his day he educated himself for the law, located in At-
tica and has built up a wide and successful practice. An omnivorous reader from
his youth and possessed of a phenominal memory he accumulated a remarkable
store of facts concerning the things in which he was especially interested. He
took keen delight in tracing the developement of the Wabash Valley and tlius
has been collecting all his life the material which is here preserved to posterity.
Mr. Whicker has traveled extensively, having visited every state of the union,
and is a keen observer so that his comments and comparisons are of real value.
Many of the stories told in these pages are of things in which he or his friends
were participants while much of the other material was gathered from the lips
of men who themselves had a hand in shaping the course of events. As a youth
he spent much time in the company of these graybeards, plying them with ques-
tions and delving into veins of rich material of which the present generation is
almost wholly ignorant.

The volume is put forth without hope of monetary reward for the labor
expended, the author desiring only to preserve for future years the history of
some of the more important features in the developement of the rich and beauti-
ful Wabash Valley, particularly that portion centering about Attica.

HARRY F. ROSS, Editor of The Attica Ledger.

Y.
C.

75583

Ouiatenon

The first white settlement in the
State of Indiana was made at Ouiate-
non on the Wabash in Tippecanoe coun-
ty, near Granville, about fourteen miles
up the river from Attica. This Indian
town was visited by the French as
early as 1688. The first detailed notice
of this settlement is given in certain
memoranda, found in the French ar-
chives at Paris, France, written in
1718.

In 1754 it was announced to the Gen-
eral Assembly of Pennsylvania that
the French were settling among the
Miami Indians on the Ouabashe, Ouia-
tenon, being mentioned as one of the
points.

Colonel Crogham was in charge of
the Indian department for the British
and visited Ouiatenon in 1765. He
found about fourteen French families
living there in a fort. This, at that
time, was the largest Indiana town in
the United States, and is said by good
authority to have been the home of
15,000 Indians.

A letter to Thomas Jefferson, dated
August, 1785, gives an account of a
Council of War held there by many of
the Algonquin tribes. The fact is that
the representatives of the English
government were the cause of this
meeting and at the time the English
had offered a reward of ten dollars, to
the Indians for the scalps of white wo-
men and children, along the borders of
the United States. This reward was
paid by the English government until

1816, and it was the English, and not
the Indians, that had called this coun-
cil of war.

With this reward before them these
Indians begun their depredations upon
the white settlers along the Wabash,
and continued them until the United
States government was forced to take
action to exterminate the Indians if
they continued the westward march of
immigration.

In 1790 General Knox then secretary
of war, ordered Brigadier General Scott
of Kentucky to send an expedition of
mounted men, not exceeding seven hun-
dred fifty, against the Indians in the
Wabash valley; this order was issued
on the 9th day of March, 1791. Im-
mediately upon receiving the order
Gen. Scott marched toward Ouiatenon
from Kentucky. There is a story to
the effect that while on this expedition
Scott or some of his men encountered
the Indians on

Kickapoo creek near the Milligan place,
opposite the city of Attica, and there,
on Warren county soil, fought the Bat-
tle of Kickapoo. There is really but
little doubt that some of the Indian
graves on the Milligan place con-
tain the bones of warriors who
went to their death in this first
historic struggle. Altho there are
few persons in this vicinity that know
anything of this battle it was not al-
ways so. O. A. Clark hes in his posses-
sion a letter written by an aunt of his,
telling of having visited the battlefield

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

of Kickapoo, while on her honeymoon
in the early '30s of the last century.

In June of 1791 Scott reached the
Wea town of Ouiatenon, found about
fifteen thousand Indians living there
and fought a battle with them, very
near the site of Granville. He de-
feated them and destroyed their city.
The Miamis, Pottawatomies, Ouiate-
nons and Kickapoos took part in the de-
fense of Ouiatenon.

Scott returned to Kentucky and im-
mediately following Brigadier General
"Wilkinson started on the first day of
August, 1791 with an expedition against
the Indians in the Wabash valley. He
first captured the Indian town of Ke-
ne-pa-com-a-qua on the Eel river, and
destroyed the town; then took up his
march toward Ouiatenon on the 7th
day of August, 1791. He had a few
skirmishes with the remaining Kicka-
poos and Pottawattomies and reached
Ouiatenon on the 11th day of August,
1791, but found that General Scott
had destroyed the town in June.

After the destruction of Ouiatenon
the remaining warriors, old men, wo-
men and children had returned to the
site of the city and had put out be-
tween 400 and 500 acres of corn on the
Wea Plains, and Wilkinson found it in
a high state of cultivation, with splen-
did gardens, and vegetables growing.
The corn was in the roasting-ear, and
was being gathered for food the com-
ing winter. Gen Wilkinson wantonly
destroyed their fields of corn, their
gardens, and their tents, and left them
without food, without homes and with-
out clothing, and returned to Ft. Wash-
ington.

The following year, 1792, General
Ilamtramck led an expedition of In-
diana volunteers and militiamen from

Vincennes to attack the non-aggressive
Indians and their villages on the north
banks of the Big Vermilion river (on
now the Shelby farm) near where the
Big Vermilion empties into the Wabash.

After the raid of Scott in the pre-
vious June and WilkinKon in the pre-
vious August, the Potawatomies and
Kickapoos were very much weakened,
and on account of the destruction of
their food the year previous many of
them had died, but the remnants of
the Potawattomie and Kickapoo tribes
were camping here. This was their
favorite hunting ground for the reason
that the Big Vermilion emptied into
the Wabash there, and about a mile
up the Vermilion river from the Wa-
bash (about where the covered wagon
bridge at Eugene now stands) there
were rapids in the river and the fish
going up stream could not easily get
over these rapids, so there they could
easily catch fish. The adjoining ter-
race lands were filled with wild straw-
berries, blackberries, raspberries, wild
plums, blackhaws, redhaws, wild crab-
apples and grapevines bearing every
kind of grape that grows along the Wa-
bash. This place was known by all
the Indians far and near as "the Great
Plum Patch."

This expedition of brave Hoosiers,
when it came near the Indian camp,
divided into two columns. One column
marched up the Vermilion river, cross-
ed it and was to attack the Indians
from the north, while the main army
should come directly up and across the
Vermilion river and attack them from
the south.

The warriors and braves were off on
ii hunting expedition and there were
1 one to molest or make afraid this
army of gallant soldiers, except the

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

broken-down old men, women andcliild-
len. These were unmercifully slaugh-
tered in the coldest of cold blood; there
were so many of them killed that this
brave army, on the return are said to
boasted that they crossed the Vermil-
ion river on the bodies of dead women
and children, and the water was red
with their blood. It was as wanton a
massacre as any ever committed by the
most uncivilized savages.

When the braves returned and found
their tents destroyed, their homes laid
waste, their aged men, their women
and their children killed, they swore
vengance on the white race.

Is it any wonder then that the In-
dian tribes of this locality greeted
Teeumseh with open arms and gave
liim and his tribe of Shawnees a home
and a hunting ground among them, and
that they joined and became a part of
Teeumseh 's Confederacy?

These Indians of this region took
part in the Battle of the Fallen Tim-
bers in Ohio, and the Battle of Tippe-
canoe, Nov. 7th, 1911.

The Shawnee Indians had their head-
quarters at The Prophet 's Town only
about eight years; they had become a
tribe of tramp Indians; their hunting
grounds and homes, when the white
men first met them, were in Canada and
iilong the borders of Lake Huron.
From there they migrated southward
nnd lived among the southern tribes in
Florida, on the banks of the Swanee
liver, which was named for them, and
then in their wanderings came back
to Ohio.

Teeumseh was a triplet; The Prophet
was one of the three children. These
children were born near Springfield
in the State of Ohio, and they were
the youngest of the family. Their

l>rothers and sisters were born in the
;-unny southland. In their wanderings
they had became acquainted with the
Indians of the west, with the Indians
of the north and with the Indians of
the south, and it was the hope of Te-
eumseh to form a confederation of all
of the Indians in the North American
continent for the welfare of the In-
dians, both defensive and offensive.

He stated to General Harrison that
he refused to observe the treaties that
had been made with the Indians up
to that time on the theory that all the
land belonged to all the Indians; that
no one Indian, by right of place or
litle, chief, prophet or close connec-
tion with man or Manitou (Great Spir-
it) had the right to sign and pass away
the title of any other Indian, as every
Indian could only pass title by signa-
ture for his proportional part, divided
per capita among all of them, this, and
no more; and that in their treaties the
whites had only secured title of the
chiefs. This argument was a surprise
to Harrison and he was both astonished
and offended by it. It broke up the
council because it had taken him un-
prepared and he was not able to an-
swer; in fact, he never made an ef-
fort to answer.

The next day he renewed the council,
called upon his servant to bring chairs
for himself and Chief Teeumseh. This
council was held beneath the spreading
branches of a magnificent elm at the
City of Vincennes. He seated himself
in the chair brought for him, and ten-
dered to Teeumseh the chair he had
ordered for the chief. The chief re-
fused the chair and said, 'Thank you
for your kindness, and your well mean-
ing offer, but the sun is my father, the

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

earth is my mother, and I shall recline
upon her bosom."

Eichard Mentor Johnson of Ken-
tucky had raised a regiment of Ken-
tucky volunteer riflemen for the War
of 1812 and was placed in charge of the
defense of the Canadian frontier. The
defense of this frontier was very im-
portant to the United States. He and
his riflemen took an active part in the

Battle of the Thames on October 5,
1813, and in this battle it was at the
hand of Eichard Mentor Johnson of
Kentucky that Tecumseh is supposed
to have been killed. In March, 1837,
Mr. Johnson was elected by the United
States Senate vice-president of the
United States and served in that ca-
pacity for four years under Van Bu-
ren's administration.

Sheshepah or "Little Duck"

We quite often hear Tecumseh spok-
en of as the most influential chief of
the Indians who lived in this locality.
Tecumseh had his headquarters at The
Prophet's Town, at the mouth of the
Tippecanoe river only about eight years
and was there but very little during
that time.

He did not take part in the battle of
Tippecanoe and outside his councils
with Harrison at Vincennes in the in-
terest of all the Indians of N,orth Am-
erica he did but very little in his life
in which this immediate locality would
have been interested. Sheshepah, who
was a Potawatami Indian and chief of
the Potawatamies and Kickapoos for
many long years, took a far more ac-
tive hand in Indian affairs in the vicin-
ity of Fountain, Warren, Parke, Ver-
milion, Tippecanoe and adjoining coun-
ties, than any local chief who at any
time lived in this locality.

Sheshepah, if the legends be true, was
born in Warren county, across the river
from Attica, near Kickapoo falls.

His mother was a Kickapoo squaw,
his father a Potawatami chief. It has
been stated that his father had two
squaws, one a Potawatami and one a

Kickapoo, and Sheshepah was the son
of the latter. Sheshepa's Kickapoo
mother was the daughter of the chief
of the Kickapoos, and on account of
his royal lineage Sheshepah inherited
the chief tainrhip of the Kickapoos from
his mother and of the Potawatamies
from his father.

Sheshepah was a well built, straight,
short, heavy-set Indian, about five feet
four inches high, very broad across the
shoulders, and as active and athletic

With his warriors, he took part in
St. Claire's defeat; and again his war-
riors, with himself commanding, took
part in the Battle of the Fallen Tim-
bers, on the 20th day of August, 1794,
at the Eapids on the Maumee river, in
the state of Ohio, not far from Defi-
ance, and in that battle he was again
facing Scott, Wilkinson and Ham-
tramck.

He had led his band of Potawat-
amies and Kickapoos to the aid of the
Miamis when Scott destroyed Quiate-
non in June, 1791. He had again answer-
ed tothe call of the Wea Indians and
faced Wilkinson in August of the same
year, and it was the aged warriors, the

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

women and the children of his tribe
that Hamtramck had killed at the
mouth of the Vermilion river in 1792,
and he and his warriors took an active
part in the battle of Tippecanoe. But
after this battle Sheshepah signed a
treaty of peace with the American
authorities, after which time he was
faithful and trustworthy, and finally
became a reliable friend of the white
people. He was a splendid commander,
brave in battle, wise in council and
true to his obligations. He signed this
treaty at Ft. Harrison, June 4, 1816.

He had a splendid son, of whom he
was extremely fond. At the age of sev-
enteen this boy, who was very fond of
hunting, fell about fifty feet from a
tree while hunting bear, near where
the Collett Home for the Aged stands,
south of Cayuga, in Vermilion county,
and was killed.

Sheshepah lived in peace for many
years with the whites; his hair became
as white as snow, he was still in com-
mand of his Indian tribe and respected
and loved by them and the whites. At
the age of one hundred ten he was
murdered in a foul manner by a lazy,
vicious, renegade Indian named Nan-
kuah, at the Nebeker Springs on the
George Nebeker farm near Covington,
in Fountain county.

There is a little story told of She-
shepah that it might be well to add: A
white man was cultivating a tract of
land near the mouth of the Vermilion
river, which belonged to the Indians,
right near the ford of the Vermilion.
The Indians forded the river there and
as the corn was in the roasting ear,
they took some of the roasting ears and
squashes for rental. The settler fol-

lowed them up and on finding some
squashes and roasting ears in the folds
of Sheshepah 's blanket undertook to
castigate the old chief with a cane.
Sheshepah did not shrink worth a cent
but dropping the blanket and the com
turned on the settler and drove him out
of the field with a stick.

The settler went to Blair and Cole-
man, two of Harrison's men who had
been in the Battle of Tippecanoe, and
asked them to call out the rangers and
the militia to prevent the Indians from
destroying his property; they refused
to call out the militia and notif ed them
to assemble at the house of one of the
pioneers the next morning. They did
so and commenced shooting at a mark.
Sheshepah and his Indians had camped
for the night near the Buffalo springs
on the farm of the late Worth Porter,
and Blair announced to the Indians and
their chief the matters to be settled.
He and Coleman were chosen as arbi-
trators; they repaired to the plum
thicket with an old law book, an al-
manac and well-worn testament as
authority and reference. Under the
spreading branches of the plum thick-
et they held a sham court, with much
chattering and gibbering, like an In-
dian council, and finally returned with
their verdict that the two litigants set-
tle the whole matter by a fist fight.
The decision was no sooner announced
than Sheshepah, the little old Indian
chief, threw off his blanket and his
belt and made ready for the fight. The
settler "stood not upon the order of
going, but went." He ran as fast as
he could, mounted his pony and was
soon out of sight — and this was She-
shepah's last encounter with the white
men.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Zachariah Cicot

One of the most interesting charac-
ters among the men of influence in
shaping the early destiny of the Wa-
bash valley was Zachariah Cicot, who
laid out Independence, and whose name
should have been perpetuated in the
name of that town.

Cicot was the son of one of the
French settlers from Ouiatenon who
chose to live with the Indians. His
mother was a daughter of a Kickapoo
Indian chief and his brother, George
Cicot, inherited a chieftainship among
the Kickapoos from her. According to
the best information available Cicot
was born about the time the War of the
Eevolution was coming to a close
in an Indian village where Independ-
ence now stands.

There is a sand-bar in the Wabash riv-
er a little above Independence which
was known as Cicot 's Ford which led
to Cicot 's Landing on the north bank
of the river. From this landing the
trail led up the ravine just above In-
dependence bridge and off to the big
spring at the north side of the town.
This spring and this ford brot the en-
campments of Indians to that place.
Near the Cicot Landing was a large
niggerhead stone which had a natural
depression in its upper side which form-
ed an excellent mortar for the Indian
squaws to grind their corn in and it
was commonly used for that purpose.
This stone is still there altho it has
been moved from its original location
and now lies near the bridge with the
mortar side down. Thomas Atkinson,
one of the pioneers of southern Benton
county, told me that when he was a boy
herding cattle on the prairies of Benton

and Warren counties, he saw many
wandering bands of Indians come from
the north and west to camp at Cicot 's
Landing and trade with Cicot and the
other Indians there. Mr. Atkinson told
me too of his own vists to the place,
where he had often seen the young In-
dians practicing with their bows and
arrows. It was a favorite sport with
the settlers who visited the camp to
insert a coin in the split end of a stick
and hold it up for the youngsters to
shoot at, giving them the coin when
they knockt it out of the stick. So
skilled were they with the bow that he
never knew of one of them, either boy
or girl, missing a coin.

It was in this environment at Ci-
cot's Landing that young Zachariah
spent his boyhood and from what is
known of his after life it is safe to in-
fer that he was a leader among the
young Indians among whom he grew up.
When he was 16 years of age he fash-
ioned him a pirogue and went down the
river to Vincennes to see something of
the white men of his father's blood.
There he pickt up the rudiments of an
education and soon began making ex-
cursions up the Wabash to barter with
the Indians. His natural shrewdness
and his thoro acquaintance with the In-
dians along the river made him a very
successful trader. Many tales have
been handed down from early settlers
concerning Cicot 's dealing with the In-
dians and his narrow escapes but these
are not the essential things about him.

In the fall of 1811, while Cicot was
at the Landing (Independence) he
received a communication from Gen.
Harrison at Vincennes, summoning him

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

to come immediately to tliat point to
act as a scout for the government of
the United States, whose army was
about to undertake a punitive expedi-
tion against the Indians of the upper
Wabash. Cicot had always been friend-
ly to the white men and responded
at once to the call. Already the In-
dians of Warren county were holding
war dances and were becoming greatly
excited in anticipation of the great con-
flict which they knew was coming and
Cicot knew that their anger would be
vented against him as soon as they
knew that he had cast his lot with the
whites. So when he left Cicot 's Landing
to answer Harrison 's call he left be-
hind him much of his live stock and
other wealth. He saved only a herd of
40 ponies, which a trusted Indian drove
away from the village under cover
of darkness and took down the river
around thru Warren county, to a place
of safety.

No one knew this section of the Wa-
bash valley like Cicot and upon him
rests a very large share of the credit
for the success of the Harrison expe-
dition. He guided the army away from
the river after it had reacht the vicin-
ity of the mouth of the Vermilion and
in order to prevent an ambush in the
ravines or woods kept as much as pos-
sible on the open prairie about ten
miles back from the Wabash on the
west side. Cicot participated in the
Battle of Tippecanoe and after it was
over returned to Vincennes with the
army, still acting as Gen. Harrison's
chief scout. After the treaty of peace
was signed with the Indians Cicot soon
resumed his trading trips up the Wa-
bash and re-establisht his headquarters
at Cicot 's Landing. In 1817 he brought
up from Vincennes on rafts hewed and

mortised timbers with which he con-
structed a large house that stood for
many years; in fact, was torn down
only about fifteen years ago and some
of its timbers are still in existence.
This house was fitted together like
Solomon's temple, each piece having
been hewed and fitted in Vincennes.
Grass was mixt with the clay used in
filling the chinks between the logs. The
house was fitted for defense if neces-
sary, having loopholes thru which rif-
les could be fired and the legends say
that at one time it was surrounded by
a stockade.

Cicot soon regained his prestige
among the Indians and traded with
them successfully, recouping his for-
tune and finally becoming probably the
wealthiest man in northern Indiana.
The erection of his residence in 1817
clearly entitles him to rank as the first
settler of Warren county, for it was
not until five years later (1822) that
the first land entries were made. When
the white men began to come into this
section they naturally drifted to Ci-
cot's trading post but they found so
many Indians hanging around it and
so much whiskey being drunk and
fighting going on that they went across
the river into Fountain and there es-
tablisht a settlement known as Mays-
ville, which grew into a town of con-
si ierably impoi'tance and concerning
which I shall have something to say in
a later article.

On Oct. 2. 1818 Cicot married the
daughter of Perig, a Potawatomi chief.
On account of this connection Cicot re-
ceived a section of land from the gov-
ernment which he took in Tippecano-e
county and another section in Carroll
county. His son, Jean Baptiste Cicot,
and his daughters, Emelia and Sophia

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Cicot, each received a half section of
land, which was located in Tippecanoe
county. Later Perig, the father of Ci-
cot's wife, was given a section of land
on the Flint river in Michigan but the
old man never took up this grant and
at the treaty of Chicago in August 29,
1821, it was transferred to Perig 's
grandson, John B. Cicot, who trans-
ferred it to his father. Zachariah lo-
cated the claim where the town of In-
dependence now stands, that section be-
ing known to this day in the land rec-
ords as Cicot 's Eeserve. In 1832 Ci-
cot platted the town of Independence
on this reservation. The town grew
and thrived and for many years was an
important center, there being a number
of manufacturing industries located
there.
Emelia Cicot, the elder daughter of

the old trader, was a very bright girl
and at several of the conferences at
which treaties were signed, acted as
interpreter, this fact being attested in
government records in the archives at
Washington. In the treaty of Jan. 21,
1832, Zachariah Cicot received from the
government $950 and in the treaty
made with the Indians at Chicago Sept.
26, 1833, he received $1,800, his last
allowance. He was at this time wealthy
as riches were accounted in that day.
He lived to be an old man, respected
alike by the Indians and whites, and
spent the remainder of his life at In-
dependence. In 1832 he suffered a
stroke of paralysis but recovered from
that and lived until 1850, when he died
and was buried in the old graveyard at
Independence.

The Burnett Family

Contemporary with Zachariah Cicot,
whose activities and influence had
such a large effect upon the early his-
tory of the Wabash valley, was the
Burnett family. Like Cicot the Bur-
netts were half-breeds but while Cicot
cast his lot with the whites and was
one of General Harrison's trusted
scouts, the Burnetts chose to cast their
fortunes with the Indians. They left
their name upon the early records of
this and adjoining counties and it is
often encountered in the records of
land transfers to this day.

The elder Burnett was a Frenchman
from the Vincennes settlement, who
had come up the Wabash and lost his
heart to an Indian princess. It was
Kaukeama, the sister of Topenibe, the

principal chief of the Potawatomies
of this locality, whose black eyes cap-
tured the adventurous Frenchman, and
so strong was their attachment that
Burnett was adopted into the tribe and
they were married. Sheshepah, whom
I have written up in an earlier sketch,
was a half brother of Kaukeama and
Topenibe. His mother was the daugh-
ter of a Kickapoo chief and thru her
he inherited a chieftainship' among the
Kickapoos, the honor and prestige of
which he also shared with his half-sis-
ter. So it was thus no ordinary squaw
whom the Frenchman Burnett took to
wife.

Burnett and Kaukeama were the par-
ents of Abraham, Nancy, Eebeeca and
James Burnett and the grandparents

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

of William Burnett. There is a legend
to the effect that the father and his
eldest son were killed in the Battle of
Kickapoo. Another son, Abraham
Burnett, is known to have been in com-
mand of the band of Kickapoos and
Potawatomies which attempted to am-
bush Gen. Hajrison's army in 1811 in
the southern part of this county where
the bluffs and ravines extend down to
the river opposite the vicinity of Per-
rysville. Had it not been for the cun-
ning of Zachariah Cicot, who may have
had an intimation of the ambush from
some of his Indian henchmen, the bat-
tle which became famous as the Battle
of Tippecanoe might have been fought
in this county. Cicot led the army back
from the river ten miles into the open
country on the opposite side and the
surprise of Burnett and his Indians
failed.

The Burnetts made their home in
what is now Wabash township, Foun-
tain county, their camp being located
near a spring in what is now Capt.
Schuyler LaTourette's barnyard. The
fine spring there is still known as Bur-
nett's spring.

In after years when the United States
government made settlements with the
Indians the Burnetts were well pro-
vided for. They got six sections of
land, most of it in Tippecanoe county,
but almost one section of it in the
northeast corner of Fountain county.
The large flint deposits, which have
been operated for years, and from
which the refractories brick plant of
Danville, 111,, secured the material for
its fire brick, is on the Burnett reser-
vation. North of Lafayette on the
north side of the Wabash river was a
larger grant of land to these Burnetts
known also as the Burnett reservation.

The name also clings to a creek in that
locality.

On Oct. 16, 1826, in a treaty made
with the Indians at the mouth of the
Mississinewa where that river empties
into the Wabash, in addition to the
lands in Tippecanoe and Fountain
county, Abraham Burnett was given
three sections of land, to be located at
the village of Wyanamac, nowWinamac,
the county seat of Pulaski county.
Nancy, Eebecca and James and the
grandson, William, were each given
one section of land, which was located
in northern Indiana. Capt. Schuyler
LaTourette's parents remembered well
when Burnetts left the land they enter-
ed. Robert Ray and myself spent a
day with Capt. LaTourette and looked
over the home grounds of the Bur-
netts. I afterwards visited a relative
by the name of Burnett, now living at
Dana, in Vermilion county, Indiana,
and received further information from
him regarding these Indiana relatives
of his.

From the LaTourette place the Bur-
netts were taken north into the state
of Michigan, I think Hetfield had
charge of this migrating party and
Charles McKinney of Richland town-
ship has the story from Hetfield 's son,
who marched a ways with the Indians
as they left here.

In about 1860, Thomas Marks, who
lives near Odell in Tippecanoe county,
went to Kansas to take up a home-
stead and there met William Burnett,
the grandson of Kaukeama. He was
then an old man but still retained his
chieftainship. Mr, Marks purchased
of him a horse, saddle, and bridle, and
was directed by Chief Burnett where
to find the best lands for entry. Mr.
Marks told me that under ordinary

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

circumstances this horse, saddle and
bridle at least calculation was worth
$100.00 but Burnett, after learning
where he was from, would accept from
him only $12.50.

The Burnetts' sympathies were al-
ways with the Indians and the British.
While they received large grants of
land from the United States govern-
ment, they took an active part always
with the Indians, against the interests
of the government, and were different
in their views from Cicot. They were
never friendly to Cicot for the reason
that he was always loyal to the Ameri-

can government and was ready and ac-
tually did sacrifice everything he had
but 40 ponies to aid Gen. Harrison. He
was ready to give everything, even his
life, that th.-5 Wabash country might
be part of the territory of the United
States. No man could do more.

In his old age Cicot always consid-
ered that he had not been fairly dealt
with in the matter of land grants as
the Burnetts, who had fought the gov-
ernment, were given more than he who
had stood by it and sacrificed greatly
for it.

Indian Tribal Characteristics

The Indians who lived in this local-
ity, when the French began making
settlements along the Wabash, were
the Wyandotts, the Delawares, the
Shawnees, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pot-
awatamies, Miamis, Kickapoos and
Winnebagos.

The Miamis claimed to have origin-
ally possessed the laud along the Wa-
bash river in this locality; the Dela-
wares occupied the land along White
river and south of Coal creek in Foun-
tain county; the E'ickapoos and Pota-
watamies hunted on the Fountain
county side in what is now Wabash,
Fulton and Troy townships, and had
possession of the territory across the
river from the little Vermilion river,
at Newport in Vermilion county to the
Tippecanoe river. The Miamis com-
prising the Eel river and Wea tribes,
had their hunting grounds extending
from Coal creek north; the Shawnees
came in later and hunted in the north-
ern part of Fountain county.

The Miami Indians are spoken of as
the Miami Confederates, being a con-
federation of different tribes of the Mi-
amis. They were the original inhabi-
tants of the Wabash valley and com-
prised the -Weas, the Eel Eiver, the
Shockeys, and several other small
tribes. The Pottawatomies and Kick-
apoos came in from the north; the
Delawares and the Wyandottes came
into the Wabash country from the east.
The Shawnees were a tribe of tramp
Indians and gathered a good deal of
knowledge from the various tribes of
Indians north and south in their wan-
derings. The Miamis did not wander;
they were satisfied with Wabash val-
ley and they did not care to leave it.
They were the last tribe to cede their
lands to the United States government.
They ceded the last of what was known
as the "Big Eeserve" on November
28, 1840. The families of John B.
Richardville, Francis Godfrey and the
principal chief Me-Shing-lo-Me-Sia and

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

many other families remained on the
Eeserve and some of them still live
there.

The Miami Indians were the best
specimens, mentally and physically, of
any of the Indian tribes that inhabited
the Wabash valley. The men were tall
and straight; the women were larger
than the women of any other tribe and
far more attractive. They did not in-
ter-marry with the other tribes, but
many of the women married white men
and many of the men married white
women.

The Miamis were the principal In-
dians in all the treaties. The Miamis
were large men, full six feet high and
of almost perfect physique. Their
women were beautiful and splendid
specimens of womanhood and the men
aided their women in taking care of
the papooses and doing the work about
the tents.

The Kickapoos were short, heavy-
set, sulky fellows; their women were
small and common in appearance and
the squaws were practically slaves to
the warriors.

The Shawnees were handsome men,
with handsome women, but hardly
equal to the Miamis. They were per-
haps the most intelligent of the In-
dians who ever lived in this locality,
while the Kickapoos were at the bot-
tom of the scale.

The Delawares were the most peace-
ful of any of the tribes of Indians who
lived in this locality, and sometimes
all of the tribes that I have named
here would hunt together.

Ouiatenon was the largest Indian
settlement in North America; 15,000
Indians lived in this settlement on
both sides of the river, and it extended
from Grindstone creek in Fountain

county to Wea creek in Tippecanoe, on
the south side of the river.

On this side were the Weas and Mi-
amis; on the other side were some very
good settlements of Kickapoos and
Potawatamles. They were very loth
to leave the hunting grounds along the
Wabash.

On the prairies of Warren, Fountain
and Benton counties were splendid
pastures for the scattering herds of
buffalo and deer, and many prairie
chickens, the streams were filled with
fish, the birds were in the forest and
the pheasant, wild turkey and quail,
there were squirrels galore, and in the
Wabash Valley the Indian had but
little trouble to secure his meat. He
never killed as the white man kills for
pleasure of killing; he only killed
game for his food and his clothing, and
he killed only what he would need;
he took from the waters only the fish
he actually needed for food; and the
birds whose feathers he could utilize
or whose flesh he could use for food.
His aim was unerring and when an ar-
row left the string that bended his bow
it seldom failed to hit the spot at
which he aimed. And then the fertile
soil along the Wabash river was util-
ized for the growing of corn, which
he plucked in the roasting ear and
dried and kept for winter use. Beans
and other vegetables were grown in
this locality by them, and they spent
their winters in comparative comfort
before the advent of the white man.

The Potawatamles and Kickapoos
came from the north and west; the
Delawares and Winnebagoes came
from the east, but the Miamis were the
original tribes here, and in their na-
tive state they did not inter-marry
with other tribes, for each tried to

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

preserve their racial or tribal features, stitions and their peculiar forms of
along with their legends, their super- worship.

The Battle of Kickapoo

I have been informed from different
sources that some persons who are read-
ing these articles doubt the authentic-
ity of some statements I am making. I
am glad to know this tho few of them
have been brave enough to express
their doubts to me. How much more
I should think of these critics if they
would just come frankly to me and
ask where I got this information.

Mr. E.E. Eay of the Attica Daily Tri-
bune, in his issue of January 26, in an
article entitled "The Battle of Kicka-
poo," says, that he doubts whether the
whites had any part in it, and yet he
admits a battle having been fought at
Kickapoo, and sa/s "That there was
a battle fought at some time on the
hills opposite Attica is shown by the
vast number of graves known to exist
on what is now the Milligan farm"
and gives other evidences of the bat-
tle there. I had stated that a letter
in the possession of O. S. Clark, writ-
ten by his aunt, stated that she had
visited the battlefield of Kickapoo on
her wedding trip, and this letter was
written in the late twenties.

Much of the material that I have
been giving is from "Dillion's History
of Indiana" and Dillon, in that history
gives the battles leading up to the de-
struction of Ouiatenon, first in June,
1797, by Brig. Gen. Charles Scott of
Kentucky, and in the same year by
Gon. John Wilkinson. He gives Scott 's
line of march, the date that he started
and the different places where he

camped; it tells of his coming to Ouia-
tenon and gives a description of the
battle there. The river was not out in
the bottoms, but it was too high to be
forded easily when this battle was
fought, and in his official report of this
battle, in which he used 750 men. Gen.
Scott says that he sent Wilkinson two
miles up the river from Ouiatenon to
ford the river but he could not ford
there. Scott had covered with his 750
men the entire length of the settle-
ment. One of the villages which he
mentions was located in the north-
east comer of Fountain county; there
were actual engagements here. They
were shooting across the river at the
Kickapoo villages on the opposite side.
On page 264 Dillon's history quotes
Scott as follows: "About this time
word was brought me that Col. Hardin
was encumbered with prisoners and
had discovered a strong village further
to my left (down the river) than those
I had observed, which he was pro-
ceeding to attack. I immediately de-
tached Capt. Brown with his company
to support Col. Hardin" — (Brown's
company was attacking the Indians
near the county line; Scott himself
was near what is now Granville, and
Wilkinson was sent two miles further
up the river) "but the distance being
six miles (from Brown) before the
Captain arrived, the business was done.
Col. Hardin joined me a little before
sunset, having killed six warriors and
taken fifty-two prisoners."

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Now, six miles down the river on
this side there were no Indian villages;
six miles down the river was what was
afterwards known as the Emmons Ford,
now on the Gus and Ed Leaf place,
which was then a gravel ford and the
b'^st ford along the Wabash. Here
Hardin's men could cross the river,
wage a battle on the other side with
the Kickapoo village in the morning
and it would take them until about six
o'clock in the evening to return. They
only reported killing six warriors, they
probably killed more; it is sure that
they did kill six and they took fifty-
two prisoners. Figuring the distances
I have concluded this would have
reached to the Kickapoo village which
was a large and strong village on the
Kickapoo creek.

From another source comes interest-
ing confirmation of the battle of Kick-
apoo. A. S. Peacock, of this city, re-
calls that his father (who was one of
th3 first settlers of Attica) told him
that W. R. Crumpton, grandfather of
W. R. Crumpton, jr., was with General
Scott in thig expedition and was one
of the detachment that fought the bat-
tle against the Indians at Kickapoo.
Crumpton later returned to the site of
Attica and establisht a store in a cabin
on the river bank, which became the
first business house of Attica. The il-
lustration printed herewith is from a
drawing which Mr. Peacock had made
many years ago and is from descrip-
tions as given by his father and other
old settlers. The Crumpton family had
a prominent part in the affairs of At-
tica during the first generation of its
existence.

If Hardin captured 52 warriors and
killed only six there is great prob-
ability that this is not a complete cas-

ualty list. The custom of the Indians
was to fight as far as possible under
cover and if the engagement lasted
several hours, as the report indicates,
it is probable that this was the case
there. If this were true many more
might have been killed and their bodies
hidden in the brush by their comrades
or the squaws. The fact that at least
58 warriors were engaged indicates
that there was at Kickapoo a village of
probably three to five hundred Indians
counting the old men, the women and
the children.

Personally I am of the opinion that
thig was not the only fight at Kicka-
poo, but evidence is lacking to establish
it, except the large number of
bones that have been unearthed at
Kickapoo. It is recalled by residents
of that community that a number of
years ago the creek bank caved away
uncovering a lot of these bones, which
had the appearance of having been
buried together in a trench rather than
in single graves.

In closing his article Mr. Eay says
"The Handbook of the American In-
dian, issued by the Ethnological Bu-
reau and purporting to give all the
tribes of Indians and noted characters,
makes no mention of Sheshepah, al-
leged leader of the Indians." In the
history of Vermilion county, Indiana,
it is stated that Sheshepah, or Seseepe,
was the principal chief of the Kicka-
poos, and the stories that I told of him
I got from an authentic history of
that county.

In the U. S. Statutes at Large, No.
7, entitled "Indian Treaties," at page
120, six Kickapoo Indian chiefs signed
the treaty at Greenville, Ohio, on July
22, 1814, the most important treaty
that William Henry Harrison ever made

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

with the Indians, and Sheshepah, or
Duck, was one of the six Kiekapoo
chiefs that signed that treaty. In the
same volume at page 146, in a treaty
entered into at 'P't. Harrison (now
Terre Haute) on the 4th day of June,
1816, Benjamin Parker being the spe-
cial agent of the president, Sheshepah,
or Little Duck, signs as the principal
chief of the Kickapoos. This I am giv-
ing from Indian treaties taken from
the Statutes of the United States of
America, and I believe it to be as au-
thentic as the "Handbook of the Amer-
ican Indian, issued by the Ethnological
Bureau."

No, Mr. Eay, I am not talking thru
my hat, neither am I an inspired writ-
er. I have the documents to back up
the statements that I am making in
regard to the Indians, and the early
settlers in this locality. I could not
give the names, the place and the date
without the authority to back me; I
was not there, I am not writing from
memory; I occasionally add some le-
gend but I tell where it came from and
give it simply for what it is worth.

After Hardin returned to Scott's
main army Scott siys "The next morn-
ing I determined to detach my Lieu-
tenant Colonel Commandant with five
hundred men to destroy the important
town of Kethtipcanunk eighteen miles
from my camp, and on the west side of
the Wabash. Three hundred sixty men
only could be found in a capacity to
undertake the enterprise, and they
prepared to march on foot. Col. Wil-
kinson marched with this detachment
at half after five in the evening and
returned to my camp the next day at
one o'clock, having marched thirty-six
miles in twelve hours, and destroyed

the most important settlement of the
enemy in that quarter of the federal
territory." But I wish to call your
attention to the fact that he sent none
down the river for the reason that Col.
Hardin had disposed of all danger the
day before in that direction. When
Brig. Gen. Scott left he released six
weak and infirm prisoners at Ouia-
tenon and gave them a written speech
in which he said, among other things:

"The sovereign council of the thir-
teen United States have long patiently
borne your depredations among their
settlements on this sidt of the great
mountains. Their mighty sons and
chief warriors have at length taken up
the hatchet, they have penetrated far
into your country to meet your war-
riors and punish them for their trans-
gressions; they have destroyed your
old town Ouiatenon and the neighbor-
ing villages, and have taken many
prisoners; they have proceeded to your
town of Kethtipcanunk^ and that great
town has been destroyed. They are
merciful as they are strong, and they
again indulge the hope that you will
come to a sense of your true interests
and determine to make a lasting peace
with them and all their children for-
ever. ' '

In speaking of Topenibe, the Pota-
watami chief, and brother of Kaukeama
Burnett, the United States Statues at
Large says: "That the United States
extend their indulgence of peace also
to the bands of the Potawatamies which
adhere to the Grand Sachem Tobinip-
we, " and at page 298 it says, speaking
of Kaukeama Burnett: "Kaukeama,
the sister of Topenibe, the principal
chief of the Putawatimie tribe of In-
dians." I only add this that there may

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

be no question about Topenibe, the
Potawatami chief, as there was about
Sheshepah, the chief of the Klckapoos.
Variation in spelling of these Indian

names is due to the fact that when they
were affixt to treaties they were written
by the interpreter, who was compelled
to rely upon the pronounciation alone.

Topenebee

The Potawatami tribe of Indians,
with the Kickapoos, inhabited the ter-
ritory along the Wabash valley on the
western side of the river from the Lit-
tle Vermilion which empties into the
Wabash near Newport in Vermilion
county, north to the Tippecanoe, and
all of the state of Michigan, all of the
state of Wisconsin, and northern Il-
linois. This was the most monarchial
tribe of Indians in all North America
and the principal chief and sachem of
the Potawatamies presided over their
counsels, directed their tribal affairs
and was the head of their religion. To-
penebee held this position among all
the Potawatimies in North America for
about fifty years. He and his sister,
Kaukeama Burnett, were full-blooded
Potawatamies. Their father first mar-
ried the daughter of a Kickapoo chief
and Sheshepah, the Kickapoo chief,
was the only child by the first mar-
riage. He held his chieftainship among
the Kickapoos from his mother, and his
high position among the Potawatamies
from his father. Topenebee was not a
warrior. He was more of a circuit rider
and it took all his time to visit and
look after the welfare of the many
tribes of Potawatomies over which he
presided. Topenebee 's headquarters
was in the vicinity of Attica. I am of
the opinion that he made his local
headquarters in the vicinity of the nu-
merous springs, from those in Eavine

park, in Attica to what is now the
Clark place, this side of Eiverside.

Topenebee took part in the defense
of Ouiatenon against General Charles
Scott in June of 1791. He also took
part in the defense of Ouiatenon against
General James Wilkinson in August of
the same year and perhaps some of his
Potawatami aged men and squaws were
killed by Major John F. Hamtramck
in 1792 at the mouth of the Vermilion
river. He took part in the battle of
the Falling Timbers (Wayne's victory
in August of 1794) and signed the
Treaty of Peace made with General An-
thony Wayne at Greenville, Ohio, on
August 3, 1795, as the principal chief
of the Potawatamies. He signed the
Treaty of Peace at Mississinewa on Oc-
tober 16, 1826, as the principal chief
signing that treaty, and on September
20, 1828, at St. Joseph, on Lake Michi-
gan, in the territory of Michigan, he
signed as the principal chief in that
treaty. In the treaty made on the Tip-
pecanoe river October 27, 1832, he sign-
ed as the principal chief. And at the
treaty made at Chicago on the 26th day
of September, 1833 he again signed as
the principal chief, so that his signing
of treaties extended over a period of
thirty-eight years.

From 1805 to about 1808 the Shaw-
nees were trying to make treaties wdth
the various tribes in this locality.
Sometime in the fall of the year 1807

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Topenebee and the Kiekapoos and Pot-
awatamies, Miamis and Winnebagos
met Teeumseh and his prophet beneath
the spreading branches of a splendid
oak that stood within the corporate
limits of the city of Attica. Many of
the older citizens can remember this
tree. It stood on the lot where Frank
Merrick now lives and according to
Jack Hegler was cut down about 1866
for the construction of the house in
which Mr. Merrick lives. This oak
was known locallv as "The Council
Tree" and was pointed out to visitors
on account of its beauty and its histor-
ical connection. It was cut down by
a man named Mitchell, and there was
general regret among the citizens of
the city when the tree was destroyed.
In this council it was agreed that the
Shawnee tribe, under Teeumseh and
his brother, The Prophet, might have as
their hunting ground the territory
drained by Shawnee creek and then a
line drawn from there to the water-
shed of the Tippecanoe river, and up
the Tippecanoe river about twenty
miles. So Teeumseh and The Prophet
and their tribe located at the mouth of
the Tippecanoe in the spring of 1808,
by permission of the Potawatamies and
Kiekapoos, as the result of the council
held beneath the oak in what is now
the city of Attica.

In the allotment of land to the In-
dians Topenebee took his grants here
and there over the large territory over
which he presided, among them a splen-
did piece of land in Benton county,
which after his death was sold by his
heirs to Edward Sumner. Sumner lived
on Shawnee prairie in Fountain county

and owned four hundred acres of land,
which he sold at $40.00 an acre. He
made a sale of his personal property,
bought Topenebee 's grant in Benton
county and from this purchase made
the foundation of the millions which
was afterwards the property of Sum-
ner's estate. The famous Caldwell and
Hawkins law suits in Warren and Ben-
ton counties were over land once own-
ed by Topenebee and of the land grant-
ed to him.

Topenebee went from this locality in-
to the state of Michigan. In the latter
part of June in 1840 he passed from
among the inhabitants of earth and
took his trackless way alone to the hap-
py hunting ground. The gentle zephyrs
laden with the perfume of blossoms
from tree and vine and shrub, blew
softly past his wigwam; the song birds
came to warble their harmonious notes
of love over his funeral bier. The
tribe of the Potawatami sincerely
mourned the departure of their beloved
sachem, their worthy and trusted chief,
and bore his remains to an Indian
graveyard and laid them in the bosom
of the earth, which he deemed as his
mother. Thus this loved and loving
child of nature went the way of all
the earth, and now there remain but
a few legends and scattering references
by early historians concerning him. And
yet, there is sufficient to show that he
was a greater man than Teeumseh in
his day and exerted a far greater in-
fluence among the red men of the cen-
tral states. But it was ever thus — th«
popular glory is to the warrior and
the heroes of peace have but scanty
praise.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 19

Tecumseh and the Prophet

Early in the year 1806 Tecumseh
and his brother, The Prophet, accom-
panied by a small band of Shawnees,
moved from the Delaware town on the
White river in Indiana to Greenville,
in the state of Ohio, and about this
time began making treaties with the
Potawatamies, Wyandottes, Kickapoos
and Miamis for hunting grounds along
the Wabash valley. In 1807 these tre-
ties were finally finished beneath the
spreading branches of "The Council
Tree," in the city of Attica, as related
in a preceding sketch, and in the spring
of 1808 they settled on the banks of
the Wabash near the mouth of the Tip-
pecanoe river, at a place which after-
wards bore the name of The Prophet's
Town. There were only about forty
Shawnees who came with them that
spring but there were about one hun-
dred Indians from other tribes in this
new settlement. Tecumseh was then
aiming to complete his federation and
unite all the Indians in all North
America into one great confederation,
both offensive and defensive, hoping
thus to serve the best interests not of
any particular trible but of all the
tribes and of all the Indians.

Tecumseh maintained and expressed
his opposition to the making of treaties
for the disposal of Indian lands, and,
in speaking to Governor Harrison at
Vincennes, in August, 1810, Tecumseh
clearly intimated that he would resist
any attempt that might be made to
survey the lands which had been ceded
to the United States. The lands ob-
tained by Governor Harrison and ceded
by the Indians to the United States,
under various treaties, amounted to

about thirty millions of acres. On the
12th of August, 1810 Tecumseh attend-
ed by 75 warriors arrived at Vincen-
nes. From this time until the 22d of
August Governor Harrison was almost
daily engaged in the business of hold-
ing interviews and counsels with this
celebrated Shawnee Indian.

The conduct of Tecumseh was haugh-
ty and his speeches were bold and in
some degree arrogant. In one of his
speeches addressed to Governor Harri-
son on the 20th of August, which was
taken down by the order of the Gov
ernor, the following passages are
found:

"Brother, I wish you to listen to me
well. As I think you do not clearly
understand what I before said to you
I will explain it again. Since the
peace (of Greenville in 1795) was made
the white people have killed some of
the Shawnee, Winnebagos, Delawares
and Miamis, and you have taken our
lands from us and I do not see how
we can remain at peace with you if you
continue to do so. You try to force the
red people to do some injury. It is
you that are pushing them on to do
mischief. You endeavor to make dis-
tinctions. You wish to prevent the In-
dians to do as we wish them, to unite
and let them consider their lands as
the common property of the whole. You
take tribes aside and advise them not
to come into this measure, and until
our design is accomplished, we do not
wish to accept of your invitation to
go and see the President."

The Prophet may have had his faults
but intemperance was not one of them.
He bitterly opposed the sale of intox-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

icants to the Indians. In an interview
with one of the messengers who visited
The Prophet's Town in the month of
June, 1810, The Prophet declared that
it was not his intention to make war
on the white people; and he said that
some of the Delawares and other In-
dians had been bribed with whiskey,
to make false charges against him.
When pressed by the messenger, Mr.
Dubois, to state the grounds of his
complaints against the United States,
The Prophet said that the Indians had
been cheated out of their lands; that
no sale was good unless made by all the
tribes; that he had settled at the mouth
of the Tippecanoe by order of the
Great Spirit and that he was, likewise,
ordered to assemble as many Indians
as he could collect at that place. In
August of 1808, The Prophet in an in-
terview with Governor Harrison said:
"Father, it is three years since I first
began with that system of religion
which I now practice. The white people
and some of the Indians were against
me but I had no other intention but to
introduce among the Indians those
good principles of religion which the
white people profess. The Great Spir-
it told me to tell the Indians that he
had made them, and made the world;
that he had placed them on it, to do
good, and not evil. I told the red skins
that the way they were in, was not
good and that they ought to abandon
it; that we ought to consider ourselves
as one man; but we ought to live agree-
able to our several customs, the red
people after their mode, "the white peo-
ple after theirs, particularly that they
should not drink whiskey; that it was
not made for them, and that it is the
cause of all the mischiefs which the
Indians suffer,"

And Teeumseh himself was as bitter-
ly opposed to the use of whiskey and
intoxicating drinks as his brother. The
Prophet.

The Shawnees came to The Prophet's
Town in 1808 and some of them stayed
there until the town was destroyed by
General Samuel Hopkins, November,
1812, one year after the battle of Tip-
pecanoe by Harrison. Some of them
went about fifty miles further north in
Indiana and lived there about four
years longer so, all told, the Indians
under Teeumseh and The Prophet did
not live in Indiana to exceed eight
years. Both Teeumseh and The Pro-
phet afterwards joined the British. The
Prophet and some of the principal
chiefs of the Miamis retired from the
borders of the Wabash and moved to
Detroit where they were received aa
friends and allies of Great Britian. In
September, 1815 the Shawnee Prophet
attended some of the sessions of the
Councils held at the Spring Well near
Detroit and retired with a few of his
followers across the river Detroit, to
British territory. Before the treaty
was signed, however, they professed
in open council, before they went
away, the most pacific intentions and
declared that they would adhere to
any treaty made by the chiefs who
would remain. Sometime afterwards,
The Prophet returned to the Shawnee
settlement in the state of Ohio, from
whence with a band of Shawnees he
removed to the Indian country on the
western side of the Mississippi river,
where he died in 1834. The British
government allowed him a pension
from the year 1813 until his death. Te-
eumseh, the distinguished brother of
The Prophet, was killed at the Battle
of the Thames on the 5th of October,
1813.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

A Little Family History

The name of my Grandfather Whick-
er's mother, before she was married,
was Bingaman. The family was Ger-
man and came into the state of Vir-
ginia about the year 1600 and lived on
the frontiers. Many of the incidents
of their frontier life have been for years
a matter of recorded history, a little
of which I shall relate in these artic-
les as it may tend to show why I have
such a keen personal interest in the
history of these first Americans.

While living in what is now Green-
brier county, West Virginia, the father
was away from home on business. A
band of Indians surrounded the cabin
in which the family lived. After a
desperate struggle they captured them
all alive and took the entire family and
their belongings with them. When the
father returned he immediately gather-
ed his neighbors and went in pursuit
of the Indians. They overtook the
Indians and succeeded in getting all
the family but one little girl five years
of age. This little girl they could not
find and were forced to return to the
settlement without her. The family
afterwards moved to what is now Guil-
ford county, North Carolina. Two of
the boys who were a few years older
than the girl, when they became young
men, started in search of their sister
and wandered from one tribe of In-
dians to another until at last they
found her, a young woman living with
the Miami Indians in the state of Ohio,
on the Maumee river. She had been
adopted by an Indian chief and his
wife and was satisfied with her home,
but, finally, the chief and his wife con-
sented to her return with her brothers
with the understanding that a year
later they (the Indians) should go to

North Carolina to see her. With this
agreement she went back with her
brothers to North Carolina. Every-
thing was done to make her home hap-
py that the family could do but she
longed for the life of the Indians and
when the year was up and her foster
parents came to North Carolina to see
her, she of her own free will, returned
with them to the life in the forest. She
afterwards married a Miami chief and
the tribe of which she was a member
came to the Wabash valley. She raised
a large family of children and my
grandfather 's brothers and sisters of-
ten visited their aunt and their Indian
cousins. These visits and their friend-
ship was continued until about 1840
after the last treaty was made at the
forks of the Wabash and those Indian
relatives went with the rest of the
tribe to the state of Kansas. My father
told me that he never heard any of the
family speak of those Indian cousins,
his father's aunt and her husband, on-
ly in the kindest of terms, and often
the families would visit back and forth
and stay for a week or more at a time.
Afterwards two of my grandfather's
brothers and his father settled in Dela-
ware county, Indiana, on what is now
one of the finest farms in that county,
taking up land selected by their In-
dian relatives. Nearly all of the re-
serves made to the Miami Indians were
made to individuals with French, En-
glish and German names. I believe the
Miami Indians to have been the most
intelligent as well as the most hand-
some tribe in North America. I have
regretted very much that our family
did not keep in touch with those In-
dian cousins.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

The Earthquake of 1811

Probably the most noted earthquake
that ever occured in the United States
was that which happened in 1811 and
reached from a little below Louisville,
Kentucky, on the Ohio river to a con-
siderable distance below New Madrid
on the Mississippi. The first shock was
felt on the 16th day of December of
that year.

The few French settlers along the
Wabash from The Prophet's Town to
Montezuma knew that there was likely
to be trouble between the settlers and
the Indians. The Burnetts, in the
lower end of Fountain county, had cast
their fate with the Indians and Zach-
ariah Cicot, of Independence, had de-
cided to cast his lot with Harrison and
the settlers. A Frenchman constructed
a flatboat on the Vermilion river
about where Eugene now stands, and
Zachariah Cicot and the Burnetts help-
ed to load this boat with furs and other
produce to be taken to New Orleans by
the Frenchman who had constructed
the boat. This flatboat was to leave,
and did leave, the mouth of the Vermil-
ion river before Harrison left Vin-
cennes. Cicot had probably invested
about everything he had with the ex-
ception of the forty ponies which he
saved, in furs, and his furs were on this
flatboat on the way to New Orleans
when he joined Harrison and the army.
This flatboat reached the Mississippi
and floated down the stream just in
time to be caught in the earthquake.

The channel of the Mississippi river
was changed in many places; sand bars
were sunk in some places and new ones
appeared in others. The banks of the

river caved in in many places and large
openings appeared in the earth from
which issued smoke, cinders, burnt and
reddish sand, mud and boiling water.
The chimneys of the houses were
shaken down and many houses were
ruined. Eeel Foot lake, in Tennessee,
was formed by this earthquake, while
many lakes in Missouri were emptied
by it. A large island in the Mississippi '
covered with a forest of large trees,
sank into the bed of the river never to
appear again. Lightning darted from !
the bosom of the earth towards the
sky and this continued along with the
roaring and other disturbances, for over
six weeks, even the current of the
Mississippi river was changed and at
one time for more than an hour the
waters ran up stream.

Just at this time, while these con-
vulsions were causing universal horror,
the first steamboat that ever navigat- i|
ed the western waters, and named the
New Orleans, was making her way out
of the Ohio into the Mississippi and
down the Mississippi, the intention be
ing to run the boat between Natchez
and New Orleans. This pioneer steam
craft was destined to have as stormy
a time as her human contemporaries,
but after a thousand narrow escapes
from snags and sand bars and eartu-
duake shocks she arrived at Natchez
January 7, 1812. The flatboat was
caught in this backward flow of water.
The Frenchman found a good landing
for his boat, and knowing that there
was trouble along the river, waited
until the earthquake was over and then
went down the river to New Orleans,
landing safely with his cargo. Dispos.
ing of it and his boat he returned and

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

settled with those whose produce he
had taken.

Dr. Hildreth says of this convulsion,
or rather series of convulsions: "An
eye-witness who was then about forty
miles below the town of New Madrid
in a flat boat, on his way to New Or-
leans with a load of produce and who
narrated the scene to me, said: 'The
agitation which convulsed the earth
and the waters of the mighty Missis-
sippi filled every living creature with
horror. In the middle of the night
there was a terrible shock and jarring
of the boats so that the crews were
all awakened and they hurried on deck
with their weapons of defense in their
hands, thinking the Indians were rush-
ing on board, the ducks, geese, swans
and various other aquatic birds whose
numberless flocks were quietly resting
in the still waters in the eddies of the
river were thrown into the greatest
tumult and with loud screams exposed
their alarm in accent of terror. The
noise and commotion soon became hush-
ed and nothing could be found to ex-
cite apprehensions. The boatmen con-
cluded that the shock was occasioned by
the falling of a large mass of the bank
of the river near them. As soon as it
was light enough to distinguish objects
the crew were all up, making ready to
depart, when a loud roaring and hiss-
ing was heard like the escape of steam
from a boiler and the sandbars and the
points of an island nearby gave way
and we saw them swallowed up inthe
tumultous bosom of the river, tearing
down with them great cottonwood
trees. Cracking and crashing, tossing
their great limbs to and fro as if sensi-
ble of their danger, the sycamore, cot-
tonwood and other large trees disap-
peared beneath the flood of water. The

water of the river the day before, was
tolerably clear, and the river was
rather low. The water changed to a
reddish hue and became thick with
mud, thrown up from the bottom of the
Mississippi, while the surface of the
water, lashed violently by the agitation
of the earth beneath, was covered with
foam which gathered into great masses
as large as a barrel, and these masses
of foam floated along on the trembling
waters. Along the shores the earth
opened in wide fissures and, closing
again, threw sand, mud and water, in
hugh jets higher than the tops of the
trees. The atmosphere was filled with
a thick vapor or gas to which the sun-
light imparted a purple tinge alto-
gether different in appearance from the
autumnal haze of an Indian summer
of that of smoke. From the temporary
check of the current, by the heaving up
of the bottom of the river and the sink-
ing banks and the sand bars into the
bed of the stream, the river rose in a
few minutes five or six feet and, as if
impatient of the restraint, again rushed
forward with redoubled impetuosity,
hurrying along the boats now set loose
by the horrer.stricken boatmen, believ-
ing they were in less danger in the
water than at the shore where the
banks threatened every moment to de-
stroy them by the falling earth or car-
ry them down in the vortices of the
sinking masses.

' Oui boat got thru, but many boats
were everwhelmed in this manner and
their crews perished with them. Many
boats were wrecked on the snags and
old trees thrown up from the bottom of
+he Mississippi where they had quietly
rested for ages while others were sunk
or stranded on the new sand bars and
new islands. New Madrid, which stood

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

on a bluff bank fifteen or twenty feet
above the summer floods, sank so low
that the next rise covered it to a depth
of five feet.' "

In all probability the ye-witness who
told this story was the Frenchman en-
routs to New Orleans with Cicot's and
Burnetts' furs from this section of the
Wabash valley.

Mr. Bradbury, an English scientific
explorer, speaking of this earthquake
says: "It commenced by distant rumb-
ling sound, succeeded by discharges as
if a thousand pieces of artillery were
suddenly exploded. The earth rockt to
and fro, vast chasms opened from
which issued columns of water, sand
and burning coal accompanied by hiss-
ing sounds, caused perhaps by the es-
cape of pent-up steam, while ever and
anon flashes of electricity gleamed thru
the troubled clouds of night, rendering
the darkness doubly terrible.

"The current of the Mississippi
pending this elementary strife, was
driven back upon its source with the
greatest velocity for several hours, in
consequence of an elevation of its bed,
and the stream ran in the opposite di-

rection. The day that followed this
night of terror brought no solace in
its day. Shock followed shock, a
dense black cloud of vapor over-
shadowed the land thru which no
struggling sunbeam found its way to
cheer the desponding heart of man.
Hills disappeared and lakes were form-
ed in their stead. One of the lakes
formed on this occasion is sixty or
seventy miles in length and from three
to twenty miles in breadth. In some
places it is very shallow, while in other
places it is from fifty to one hundred
feet in depth, much deeper than the
Mississippi river in that quarter. In
sailing over its surface, in a light canoe
the voyager is struck with astonishment
at beholding the giant trees of the for-
est, standing partly exposed amid a
waste of waters, branchless and leaf-
less, and the wonder is still further in-
creased on looking into the dark blue
depth to observe cane.brakes covering
its bottom over which a mammoth
species of testudo is seen dragging his
slow length along which countless myri-
ads of fish are sporting thru the
aquatic thickets."

Harrison's March to Tippecanoe

One hundred and four years marks
but a short space in the world's his-
tory. One hundred and four years ago
Napoleon was making history in Eur-
ope. It had been only nine years since
Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase
and England viewed the new republic
of the United States as hardly worth
recognition, and had some designs to-
ward its annexation. The war of 1812
was brewing and the threatening clouds

of war, the occasional flashes of battle,
never passed from our national horizon.
The Indians on our frontiers were rest-
less, and with the eloquent and reason-
ing Tecumseh they were foes with
which we had to consider. They held
undisputed sway and control of a vast
empire reaching from the Ohio river to
Hudson bay and from the Pacific ocean
to a line markt by the Wabash river,
the Maumee and Lake Huron, an em-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

pire worth the efforts of a race. It
was for the retention of this empire for
their posterity that the Indians fought
at the Battle of Tippecanoe. It was
my pleasure in August, 1914, in com-
pany with Barce and Walker, of Fowler
and Babcock, of Goodland, all limbs of
the law, to follow the trail of William
Henry Harrison and his gallant army,
that fought the Battle of Tippecanoe,
from the battle ground to old Fort Har-
rison which is inside the city limits of
Terre Haute. We went in a Ford and
took our time.

The line of march from the battle
ground to Pine creek is easily followed
but from there on the ruthless hand of
civilized man has altered the earth 's
surface, cleared the forest and drained
the prairie lands; but there is here and
there along the route a man or woman
nearing the ninety-year mark who has
lived thru the days of the rugged pio-
neer, the Mexican war, the gold fever
of California, seen the exodus to the
states west of the Mississippi, the ex-
citing times of the Civil war and the
years of inventive genius and industrial
activity that has followed and still lives.
And their words are as a voice from the
past; they are the few links left that
bind us to those historic days that
have past away forever.

The first of those with whom we talkt
was John Pugh, the father of Dr. Pugh,
of Williamsport, then past 89 years
of age, a nimrod, a mighty hunter of
old, the last of the type of Daniel
Boone. He showed us his faithful old
rifle and his hunting knives and told us
the line of march as he remembered it
before a plow had turned a furrow in
the prairie or the woodman had felled
the trees of the forest. After consult-
ing with him we took up the line of

march at the "Army ford" about a
mile and a half up Pine creek from
Kramer, just above the dam of the old
Brier mill. This was the first mill built
on Pine creek, and the land is still own-
ed by the Briers. All the early settlers
for miles about brought their grain to
this mill to be converted into flour or
meal. Mr. Pugh gave us a detailed ac-
count of the mill and the process used
for separating and grinding the grain.
From this point Harrison's army skirt-
ed the prairie. They detailed sixteen
men to stand guard to prevent an am-
bush from the river between the camp
and the river. These sixteen men were
deployed on each side of Pine creek
nearly straight north from Williamsport
and just about where the Williamsport
road starts across the Pine creek bot-
toms in going to Kramer. The army
skirted the prairie for the reason that
in its march to the battle ground it
could easily watch and guard the left
flank of the army and the view of the
prairie would prevent an ambush. There
were many Indians along the river so
the soldiers left the timber land of the
Wabash well to their right as they
moved northward.

It was on the 26th day of September,
1811, that Governor William Henry
Harrison with an army of about nine
hundred men left Vineennes, on his
momentous expedition against the Wa-
bash valley Indians. Two hundred and
fifty of these men composed the Fourth
Eegiment of the United States Infant-
ry, sixty were Kentuckians and the re-
maining six hundred were the militia of
the territory of Indiana from Corydon
and Vineennes along the Wabash and
Ohio rivers.

They started on this expedition from
Fort Harrison, marching up the river,

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

on the eastern side, to Montezuma. It
took the soldiers two hours to cross the
Wabash at Montezuma. They then fol-
lowed near the banks with the army,
taking their provisions in boats on the
river, to a point a little below the
mouth of Coal creek, which is a little
below the south line of Fountain coun-
ty. Here on the banks of the river they
built a fort as a base of supplies, sent
forty men back to guard the women and
children at Fort Harrison, and left
eight men to guard the fort. With the
assistance of W. W. Porter and his wife
and sons we were able to locate the site
of this fort which was on the Porter
land. John C. Colett, at one time the
state geologist of Indiana, (a local his-
torian of rare worth, a philanthropist,
having given to Vermilion county a
home for all its orphans with money
enough for its maintenance, and a park
1o the city of Terre Haute known as
Colett park, and with his brother built
the C. & E. I. railroad from Terre Haute
to Chicago and who gave me my first in-
spiration for the study of geology,) had
made his home with Porter 'a parents
and had inspired Mr. Porter with a
pride in local history. He made Mr.
Porter one of the trustees of his or-
phans' school. The Porters were thus
able to show us the remains of the cor-
duroy roads made by the Harrison
army thru the swampy lands near his
place. They crossed the Little Vermil-
ion river just south of Eugene at what
is known as the ' ' Army ford ' ' near the
Shelby place. This was the principal
camping ground of the Kickapoo In-
dians. After crossing the Vermilion
river they went north to the prairie in-
to the State of Illinois, south of Dan-
ville, and crossed the state line south of
State Line, Two private soldiers of

the army were buried in the Gopher
Hill cemetery south of Marshfield, and
the trail can be plainly seen thru the
yard of a farmer who has carefully
preserved it about a mile and a half
northwest of the cemetery. They camp-
ed one night in the Eound grove, now
the property of Frank Goodwine, of
West Lebanon. There was a spring in
this grove which never went dry and
the grove was far out in the prairie.
On their return trip two of the soldiers
were buried in this grove. It can be
plainly seen from Sloan or Hedrick.
Cassius M. Clay said the soldiers got
blue grass seed here and carried it back
to Kentucky, from which came the
Kentucky blue grass. From there they
mareht to the ' ' Army ford ' ' across Pine
creek above Brier 's mill. On their re-
turn trip they campt one night there.
On the northwest shore of the creek
two of the soldiers died and were bur-
ied. There was a very large rock in the
middle of the road one mile south of
the Butler place known as the "Army
Kock. " It was a niggerhead and the
largest niggerhead in Warren county.
The trail led past the rock. A road su-
pervisor with about as little regard for
local history as a country school teacher
had Charley Burgeson break this rock
into small particles with dynamite a
few years ago.

Zachariah Cicott, who was born of
an Indian mother and a French father,
near Independence, and lived to be an
old man on the grounds where he was
born, led the Harrison army from the
camp on the Wabash near Cayuga to
the battle ground. The men who made
the advance guard were under Dubois,
and this Dubois was the grandfather of
the U. S. senator from Idaho of the
same name. Daviess, who had charge

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

of the trial of Aaron Burr for treason,
was in this march and in the battle.
Naylor, who for many years was judge
of this judicial district was in the march
and in the battle. Tipton, who at one
time represented our state in the United
State senate, was in the march and the

battle and many other equally as prom-
inent made this march and were in the
battle.

I hope that we can some time get
this line of march plainly marked from
Fort Harrison to Tippecanoe.

Battle of Tippecanoe

In 1800 Congress created the Terri-
tory of Indiana and Gen. Wm. Henry
Harrison, who had been governor of the
Northwest Territory, was continued as
governor of the new territory, with
headquarters at Vincennes. For ten
years the Indians, inflamed by agents
of the British and by ambitious chief-
tains, continued to wage guerilla war-
fare against the encroaching settlers.
White men were shot down in their
fields, women and children were awak-
ened in the night by savage warwhoops,
maybe to find the roof blazing over
their heads. Most of these depreda-
tions were committed further east and
south than this section, the tide of
white settlement having not yet pene-
trated this far. It was here however
that the Indians had their strongholds
and it is for that reason that the final
battles with them were fought here.

Of the battles the most important in
its effects was the Battle of Tippeca-
noe. Compared with the battles of the
present great war in Europe this battle
was but a tiny skirmish — the losses on
both sides did not exceed a hundred —
yet it had a very important effect up.
on the history of the American repub-
lic. It not only made possible the oc-
cupation and settlement of Indiana
but it settled the Indian question ef-

fectively for the whole western coun-
try. This resulted in the settlement of
the Mississippi valley and ultimately
U.d to the extention of the territory of
tho United States to the Pacific coast.
Thus in the history of the developement
of the human race it was more import-
ant than any of the bloody battles that
have been fought thus far in the pres-
ent European war.

In a preceding article I have told
you bow Gen. Harrison, out of patience
because he had been unable to effect
a tioatj with Tecumseh and to con-
vince him that it was useless for iho
red man to oppose the march of the
white, had finally determined to de-
etroy his headquarters — The Prophet's
Town— at the junction of the Tippeca-
noe and Wabash rivers. It was in 1808
that Tecumseh had established his
headquarters at this point on invitation
of the Potawatomies. This town was
sometimes known as Tippecanoe and it
grew rapidly in importance as the head-
qda'"ters of the confederacy which
recuraf,eh and his brother, The Prophet,
■v^ere organizing among the Indian
tribes cf the whole country. Tecumaoa
esLablifht relations with the British 'u
Canada and while holding talks, some-
times peaceful and sometimes stormy,
with the territorial authorities, he was

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

really crganizing a war against them
Tliese practices he continued until 1811
when in futherance of his plans he went
south leaving The Prophet in control of
affairs in Indiana.

Gen. Harrison had a proper estimate
of Tocumseh. In an official report he
said of him: "If it were not for the
vicinity of the United States he would
perhaps be the founder of an empire
that would rival in glory Mexico and
Peru. No difficulties deter him. For
four years he has been in constart
motion. You see him today on the Wa-
bash and in a short time hear of him en
the shores of Lake Erie or Michigan,
or on the banks of the Mississippi, and
wherever he goes he makes an impres-
sion favorable to his purpose. He is qow
upon the last rounds to put a finish-
ing stroke upon his work. I hope, how.
ever, before his return that part of
that work which he considered complete
will be demolished and even its founda-
tion rooted up."

Governor Harrison 's judgement was
sound and it was time to act. Had he
delayed until the return of Tecumseh,
possibly within a few weeks, the whole
trontiei — from Michigan to Georgia —
might have been drencht in blood.
Knowing that a war was imminent he
boldly struck at the heart of the mat-
ter by marching against the head-
quarters of the confederacy, and seized
another advantage by doing it when
the interpid leader was away, Tecumseh
being in Mississippi when the battle
occurred.

I have told you the story of the
march from Vincennes up the Wabash.
It was the 26th day of September when
the army set out from Vincennes and
at 2:00 o'clock Nov. 6th it halted and
camped two miles from The Prophets

Town, and it was there that the Battle
of Tippecanoe was fought.

Perhaps I can convey to my readers
the best description of this battle by
giving an account of it written by Isaac
Naylor, who was a militiaman in the
battle and who afterward settled at
Crawfordsville and became judge of
this circuit, which at that time includ-
ed Fountain county. He was a man of
ability and afterward had a very im-
portant part in the developement of
this section. The manuscript from
which I quote was lost for many years
but was found some twenty years ago
and is now a part of the established
history of the battle. Following is
his account:

When the army arrived in view of
The Prophet's Town, an Indian was
seen coming toward General Harrison
with a white flag suspended on a pole.
Here the army halted, and a parley was
had between General Harrison and an
Indian delegation, who assured the
General that they desired peace, and
solemnly promised to meet him the
next day in council, to settle the terms
of peace and friendship between them
and the United States.

General Marston G. Clark, who was
then brigade major, and Waller Taylor,
one of the judges of the General Court
of the Territory of Indiana, and after-
wards a Senator of the United States
from Indiana (one of the General's
aide's), were ordered to select a place
for the encampment, which they did.
The army then marcht to the ground
selected about sunset. A strong guard
was placed around the encampment,
commanded by Capt. James Bigger and
three lieutenants. The troops were
ordered to sleep on their arms. The
night being cold, large fires were made

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

along the lines of the encampment and
each soldier retired to rest, sleeping on
his arms.

Having seen a number of squaws and
children at the town I thought the
Indians were not disposed to fight.
About ten o 'clock at night Joseph War-
nock and myself retired to rest, he tak-
ing one side of the fire and I the other,
the members of our company being all
asleep. My friend Warnock had dream,
ed, the night before, a bad dream which
forboded something fatal to him or to
some of his family, as he told me.
Having myself no confidence in dreams,
I thot but little about the matter,
altho I observed that he never smiled
afterwards.

I awoke about four o'clock the next
morning after a sound and refreshing
sleep, having heard in a dream the fir-
ing of guns and the whistling of bul-
lets just before I awoke from my slum-
ber. A drizzling rain was falling and
all things were still and quiet thruout
the camp. I was engaged in making
a calculation when I should arrive
home.

In a few moments I heard the crack
of a rifle in the direction of the point
where now stands the Battle Ground
House. I had just time to think that
some sentinel was alarmed and fired
his rifle without a real cause, when I
heard the crack of another rifle, fol-
lowed by an awful Indian yell all
around the encampment. In less than
a minute I saw the Indians charging
our line most furiously and shooting a
great many rifle balls into our camp
fires, throwing the live coals into the
air three or four feet high.

At this moment my friend Warnock
was shot by a rifle ball thru his body.
He ran a few yards and fell dead on

the ground. Our lines were broken and
a few Indians were found on the inside
of the encampment. In a few minutes
they were all killed. Our lines closed
up and our men in their proper places.
One Indian was killed in the back part
of Captain Geiger's tent, while he waa
attempting to tomahawk the Captain.

The sentinels, closely pursued by the
Indians, came to the lines of the en-
campment in haste and confusion. My
brother, William Naylor, was on guard.
He was pursued so rapidly and furiously
that he ran to the nearest point on the
left flank, where he remained with
a company of regular soldiers until the
battle was near its termination. A
young man, whose name was Daniel
Pettit, was pursued so closely and fur-
iously by an Indian as he was running
from the guard line to our lines, that
to save his life he cocked his rifle as
he ran and turning suddenly around,
placed the muzzle of his gun against
the body of the Indian and shot an
ounce ball thru him. The Indian fired
his gun at the same instant, but it be-
ing longer than Pettit 's the muzzle
passed by him and set rife to a hand-
kercheif which he had tied around his
head. The Indians made four or five
most fierce charges on our lines, yelling
and screaming as they advanced, shoot-
ing balls and arrows into our ranks. At
each charge they were driven back in
confusion, carrying off their dead and
wounded as they retreated.

Colonel Owen, of Shelby county,
Kentucky, one of General Harrison's
volunteer aides, fell early in action by
the side of the General. He was a mem-
ber of the legislature at the time of his
death. Colonel Daviess was mortally
wounded early in the battle, gallantly
charging the Indians on foot with his

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

sword and pistols, according to his own
request. He made this request three
times of General Harrison before he
was permitted to make the charge.
This charge was made by himself and
eight dragoons on foot near the angle
formed by the left flank and front line
of the encampment. Colonel Daviess
lived about thirty-six hours after he
was wounded, manifesting his ruling
passions in life — ambition, patriotism
and an ardent love of military glory.
During the last hours of his life he
said to his friends around him that he
had but one thing to regret — that he
had military talents; that he was about
to be cut down in the meridian of life
without having an opportunity of dis-
playing them for his own honor, and the
good of his country. He was buried
alone with the honors of war near the
right flank of the army, inside of the
lines of the encampment, between two
trees. On one of these trees the letter
"D" is now visible. Nothing but the
stump of the other remains. His grave
was made here, to conceal it from the
Indians. It was filled up to the top
with earth and then covered with oak
leaves. I presume the Indians never
found it. This precautionary act was
performed as a mark of peculiar respect
for a distinguished hero and patriot
of Kentucky.

Captain Spencer's company of mount-
ed riflemen composed the right flank
of the army. Captain Spencer and both
of his lieutenants were killed. John
Tipton was elected and commissioned
as captain of this company in one hour
after the battle, as a reward for his
cool and deliberate heroism displayed
during the action. He died at Logans-
port in 1839, having been twice elected
Senator of the United States for the
State of Indiana.

The clear, calm voice of General Har-
rison was heard in words of heroism in
every part of the encampment during
the action. Colonel Boyd behaved very
bravely after repeating these words:
"Huzza I My sons of gold, a few more
fires and victory will be ours!"

Just after daylight the Indians re-
treated across the prairie toward their
town, carrying off their wounded. This
retreat was from the right flank of the
encampment, commanded by Captains
Spencer and Eobb, having retreated
from the other portions of the encamp-
ment a few minutes before. As their
retreat became visible, an almost deaf-
ening and universal shout was raised
by our men. "Huzza! Huzza! Huzza!"
This shout was almost equal to that
of the savages at the commencement
of the battle; ours was the shout of
victory, theirs was the shout of feroc-
ious but disappointed hope.

The morning light disclosed the fact
that the killed and wounded of our
army, numbering between eight and
nine hundred men, amounted to one
hundred and eight. Thirty-six Indians
were found near our lines. Many of
their dead were carried off during the
battle. This fact was proved by the
discovery of many Indian graves
recently made near their town. Ours
was a bloody victory; theirs a bloody
defeat.

Soon after breakfast an Indian chief
was discovered on the prairie, about
eighty yards from our front line, wrap-
ped in a white cloth. He was found by
a soldier by the name of Miller, a resi-
dent of Jeffersonville, Indiana. The
Indian was wounded in one of his legs,
the ball having penetrated his knee
and passed down his leg, breaking the
bone as it passed. Miller put his foot
against him and he raised up his head

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

and said: "Don't kill me, don't kill
me." At the same time five or six
regular soldiers tried to shoot him, but
their muskets snapped and missed fire.
Major Davis Floyd came riding toward
him with dragoon sword and said he
would show them how to kill Indians,
when a messenger came from General
Harrison commanding that he should
be taken prisoner. He was taken into
camp, where the surgeons dressed his
wounds. Here he refused to speak a
word of English or tell a word of truth.
Thru the medium of an interperter
he said that he was a friend to the
white people arid that the Indians shot
him while he was coming to the camp
to tell General Harrison that they were
about to attack the army. He refused
to having his leg amputated, tho he
was told that amputation was the only
means of saving his life. One dogma of
Indian superstition is that all good
and brave Indians, when they die, go
to a region abounding with deer and
other game, and to be a successful hun-
ter he should have all his limbs, his
gun and his dog. He therefore prefer-
red death with all his limbs to life with-
out them. In accordance with his re-
quest he was left to die, in company
with an old squaw, who was found in
the Indian town the next day after he
was taken prisoner. They were left in
one of our tents.

At the time this Indian was taken
prisoner, another Indian, who was
wounded in the body, rose to his feet
in the middle of the prairie and began
to walk toward the woods on the op.
posite side. A number of regular
soldiers shot at him but missed him. A
man who was a member of the same
company with me, Henry Huckleberry,
ran a few steps into the prairie and

shot an ounce ball thru his body and
he fell dead near the margin of the
woods. Some Kentucky volunteers
went across the prairie immediately
and scalped him, dividing his scalp in-
to four pieces, each one cutting a hole
in each piece, putting the ramrod thru
the hole and plaching his part of the
scalp just behind the first thimble of
his gun, near its muzzle. Such was the
fate of nearly all of the Indians found
dead on the battle-ground, and such Was
the disposition of their scalps.

The death of Owen, and the fact
that Daviess was mortally wounded,
with the remembrance also that a large
portion of Kentucky's best blood had
been shed by the Indians, must be their
apology for this barbarous conduct.
Such conduct will be excused by all who
witnessed the treachery of the Indians,
and saw the bloody scenes of this bat-
tle.

Tecumseh being absent at the time
of the battle, a chief called White Loon
was the chief commander of the In-
dians. He was seen in the morning af-
ter the battle, riding a large white
horse in the woods across the prairie,
where he was shot at by a volunteer
named Montgomery, of this state. At
the crack of his rifle his horse jumped
as if the ball had hit him. The Indian
rode off toward the town and we saw
him no more. During the battle the
prophet was safely located on a hill,
beyond the reach of our balls, praying
to the Great Spirit to give victory to
the Indians, having previously assured
them that the Great Spirit would
change our powder into ashes and sand.

We had about forty head of beef cat-
tle when we came to the battle. They
all ran off the night of the battle, or
they were driven off by the Indians,

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

so that they were all lost. We received
rations for two days on the morning af-
ter the action. We received no more
rations until the next Tuesday evening,
six days afterwards. The Indians hav-
ing retreated to their town, we perform-
ed the solemn duty of consigning to
their graves our dead soldiers, without
shrouds of coffins. They were placed
in graves about two feet deep, from
five to ten in each grave.

General Harrison having learned that
Tecumseh was expected to return from
the south with a number of Indians
whom he had enlisted in his cause,
called a council of officers, who advised
him to remain on the battle-field and
fortify his camp by a breastwork of
logs about four feet high. This work
was completed during the day and all
the troops were immediately placed be-
hind each line of the work when they
were ordered to pass the watchword
from right to left every five minutes
so that no man was permitted to sleep
during the night. The watchword was
"Wide awake, wide awake." To me it
was a long, cold, cheerless night.

On the next day the dragoons went
to The Prophet's Town, which they
found deserted by all the Indians, ex-
cept an old squaw, whom' they brought
into camp and left her with the wound-
ed chief before mentioned. The dra-
goons set fire to the town and it was
all consumed, casting a brilliant light
amid the darkness of the ensuing night.
I arrived at the town when it was about
half on fire. I found large quantities
of corn, beans, and peas. I filled my
knapsack with these articles and car-
ried them to the camp, and divided
them with the members of our mess,
consisting of six men. Having these
articles of food, we declined eating

horse flesh, which was eaten by a large
portion of our men.

Thus closes the story of Judge Naylor
and it gives yoU a very intimate and ac-
curate view of the struggle from the
viewpoint of one who was in the con-
flict. There is one incident which he
omitted, however, which I think should
be included here, as it will be of par-
ticular interest to the boys who are
• reading these sketches.

The company known as the Yellow
Jackets and referred to by Judge Nay-
lor, was under command of Capt. Spier
Spencer, and had been raised among the
pioneers of Harrison county, down on
the Ohio river. Spencer had been serv-
ing as sheriff of that county, and tra-
dition has it that he was one of "Mad
Anthony" Wayne's seasoned veterans.
He had spent all of his life on the
frontier and it was but natural that he
should organize from the brave and
hardy pioneers of southern Indiana a
company to serve under General Harri-
son in defense of their homes and little
ones. His brother George was one of
the company. So too, was his son Ed-
ward, only fourteen years old, but large
for his age and well able to handle a
rifle. The taking along of this boy, in
a campaign which all knew was to be
an arduous one, is evidence of the need
for men and proof of the devotion and
patriotism of these early Hoosiers.

There were 47 men in the company,
exclusive of officers, and in the for-
tune of battle it happened that they
were placed where the most bloody
fighting occured. The Indians were
in hand-to-hand conflict with the
soldiers at this point and it was this
struggle that is commemorated in the [
large mural painting in the office of J
the Fowler hotel at Lafayette. !,

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Early in the fight Capt. Spencer was
shot down, struck by three bullets. Two
of his men, Pfrimmer and Bayard,
started to carry him to a protected
place, but a fourth bullet struck him
in the shoulder and passed lengthwise
thru his body, killing him almost in-
stantly. The first and second lieuten-
ant were also killed soon afterward and
the ensign, John Tipton, took command
of the company. As the battle raged
hardest at this point the attention of
Gen. Harrison was attracted to it and
he rode to this part of the field.
"Where is your captain?" he demand-
ed of Ensign Tipton. "Dead, sir,"
replied the young man. "Where is your
lieutenant?" "He is also dead, sir"
was the reply. ' ' Who are you ? ' ' then
demanded the rough old general. ' ' I
am the ensign of the company, sir, and
I was put in command. " " Hold your
own a little longer my brave boy, and
I'll send reenforcements to help you."
This story was related by one of Gen.
Harrison 's staff officers who was by
his commander's side when it occurred.
Tipton and the Yellow Jackets held
their own until assistance arrived, tho
fifty percent of the company was
wounded or slain. The battle lasted
two hours and twenty minutes and
when it was over 8 of the 47 Yellow
Jackets were dead and fifteen wound-
ed. Among the latter was Capt. Spenc-
er's brother who died on the home-
ward march. In testimony to his abil-
ity and bravery Ensign Tipton was
elected captain within an hour after
the battle. Tipton was 29 years old at
the time. He became a man of promin-
ence in Indiana in after years, served
in the legislature, also as an Indian
agent. He it was who bought the land
where the battle was fought in 1829,

and in 1834 gave it to the State of
Indiana to be preserved as an historical
park. I shall have something more
to say in a later sketch of the men who
comprised this army of Harrison 's,
many of whom occupied positions of
prominence later and had an active
part in the developement of the state
whose centenary we are celebrating
this year.

The boy, Edward Hpencer, whom I
have mentioned as the fourteen-year
old son of Capt. Spencer, went thru
the battle unscathed, tho his father
and uncle were killed. Gen. Harrison
in appreciation of the brave death of
the lad's father, took the boy under
his personal care for the remainder of
the campaign, and later secured his
admission to West Point Military Acad-
emy, assigning as a reason, bravery
shown on the field of battle. Later he
secured the admission of a younger
brother of Edward to the same insti-
tution. From that time on there has
been always in the U. S. army a
descendant of Speir Spencer, trying to
live up to the example set by the brave
pioneer captain who gave up his life
for his country at Tippecanoe.

On the third day after the battle
preparations were hurriedly begun for
a return march. The weather was get-
ting cold, snow was not improbable,
and Vincennes was 150 miles away. The
wounded were loaded into wagons with
the supplies, made as comfortable as
possible, and the march was begun.
There were 22 wagons in the train. Be-
fore nightfall the army had got out
onto the prairie west of where the city
of Lafayette now is where they felt
safe from attack. Six days of un-
eventful marching brot them to Fort
Harrison, from which point the wound-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

ed were taken to Vincennes by boat.
Capt. Snelling and his company of
regulars were left there as a garrison
and the remainder of the army proceed-
ed south to Vincennes, where they ar-
rived Nov. 18th, having been away 49
days. By the end of the month the
militia were mostly mustered out and
sent to their homes, where they were
welcomed as returned heroes.

Following the battle the people of
Indiana spent a quiet winter. The
hope of the confederacy among the
Indians having been broken up Tecum-
seh spent some time in the South but
returned before spring and made his
way to the British at Detroit, where
he allied himself openly with them and
became one of the chief figures in the
War of 1812

The Men of Tippecanoe

Anyone who delves into the history
of the battle of Tippecanoe cannot es-
cape being imprest by the character of
the men that composed Gen. Harrison 's
army. In my sketch of the battle there
was a hint of this in the statement that
Isaac Naylor, one of the privates, after-
ward became judge of this circuit; but
there were many of the others who
were with Harrison who became prom-
inent afterward and whose names are
inseparably linked with the history of
Indiana. Every school boy knows that
Harrison himself was made president
later, but comparatively little is known
of the others, so I have thought it
worth while to set down here some
things of interest relative to a number
of the men in his command. I shall be-
gin with Harrison and in this I shall
quote from Elmore Brace, of Fowler,
because I think my friend Barce has
written the best short description of
Harrison that has ever been printed.
If Benton County has not discovered
Barce I hope it will soon. A few years
ago I told Barce a prairie country could
not produce great men, that it required
hills and landscape for oratory, elo-
quence and greatness; and Barce imme-

diately made a trip down the
Wabash from the source to the mouth
of the river and wrote the best des-
scription of the Wabash valley I have
ever seen in print. I have not spoken
to Barce since that time, and if he con-
tinues to prove my statements false I
may never speak to him again. Here is
his sketch of "Old Tippecanoe:"

' ' Harrison arrived in Vincennes in
1801. At that time he was twenty-
eight years of age, had served as aid-
de-camp to Gen. Wayne at the Battle
of the Fallen Timbers and had dis-
tinguished himself for braver^. In
personal appearance Harrison was com-
manding and his manner prepossessing;
he was about six feet high, rather slend-
er form, straight and of a firm elastic
gait. Even at the time of his election
as president, tho bordering seventy, he
had a keen penetrating eye, was quick
of apprehension, prompt and energetic.
In the severe winter campaign of
1812-13 he alept in a thinner tent than
anyone in his command, whether ofiicer
or soldier, and his accommodations were
known as the worst in the army. On
the expedition of the Thames all his
baggage was contained in one valise;

SKETCPIES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

on the uight after the action of the
Thames, thirty-five British officers
supped with him on fresh beef roasted
before the fire, without salt or bread,
and without spirits or drink of any
kind except water, and whether in
camp or on the march his whole army
was up regularily and under arms at
daybreak, and upon no occasion did
he fail to be out himself, however se-
vere the weather, and was generally
the first officer on horseback ready to
start his whole army. He made it a
point on every occasion to set an ex-
ample of fortitude and patience to his
men and to share with them every hard-
ship, difficulty and danger. Judge Law
writes that William Henry Harrison
was as brave a man as ever lived. At
Tippecanoe immediately after the first
savage yell, he mounted on horseback
and rode from line to line encouraging
his men and knew that he was at all
times a conspicuous mark for the In-
dian bullets. One leaden ball passed
thru the rim of his hat, and Col. Abra-
ham Owen, Thomas Randolph and
others were killed at his side. Upon
one occasion, as he was approaching an
angle of the line again, Indians were
advancing with their horrible yells,
Lieut. Emerson of the dragoons seized
the bridle of his horse and earnestly
entreated him to go no farther, but
putting spurs to his horse he pushed
on to the point of attack, where, under
his command, the enemy was received
with firmness and driven back. To
these traits, his fearless courage, his
willingness to share in the burdens and
hardships of the common soldier, may
be attributed his great and lasting
hold on the affections of the Kentucky
and southern Indiana Indian fighters.

To them he was more than a hero, he
was a man approaching the divine.

On his arrival at Vincennes in 1801
the population of that town was seven
hundred fourteen persons, eighteen
hundred nineteen more lived in the sur-
rounding country, and fifty-five fur
traders were scattered along the Wa-
bash. A large part of the inhabitants
of Vincennes belonged to that class
of French Canadians who produced the
LaPlants, the Barrons, and the Brouil-
ettes, some of them renowned Indian
interperters and river guides, and
among the settlers of the state were
Benjamin Park, one of the commanders
of Tippecanoe and founder of the state
law library, and Waller Taylor, Thomas
Randolph, two of his aides in the Wa-
bash campaign. These men favored
the suspension of the sixth article of
the ordinance of 1787, prohibiting
slavery in the Northwest territory,
which is now established history.

"While at Vincennes Harrison con-
ducted a' great number of difficult ne-
gotiations and treaties with the chiefs
and head-warriors of the Miamis, Pot-
awatomies, Delawares, Shawnees, Kick-
apoos and other tribes. Copies of the
Old Western Sun amply testifies to the
fact that prior to the important In-
dian treaties of 1809 at Ft. Wayne and
Vincennes, he issued a public procla-
mation prohibiting any traffic in liquor
with the Indians, that he constantly
inveighed against this illegal com-
merce with the Indian tribes.

"Dillon says the total quantity of
land ceded to the United States under
treaties which were concluded betwen
Gov. Harison and various Indian tribes
amounted to about 29,719,530 acres.

' ' On the ffrst day of September, 1809
he set out on horseback for the council

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

house at Ft. Wayne, accompanied only
by Peter Jones, his secretary, Joseph
Barron, the interperter, a Frenchman
for a guide, and two Indians, probably
Delawares of the friendly White Eiver
tribe. He travelled eastward in Dear-
born and Wayne counties. While in
Wayne county, he and his party were
entertained by Peter Weaver, who af-
terwards became the first settler of
Fountain and Tippecanoe counties;
and Patrick Henry Weaver, who came
here with his father told me that on
this journey William Henry Harrison
gave him a fifty cent piece, which was
the first money he ever owned.

"Judge Law says of Joseph Barron,
the interpreter. ' He knew the Indian
character well, had lived among them
many years, spoke fluently the lan-
guage of every tribe which dwelt on
the upper Wabash, understood their
customs, habits and manners, and char-
latanry well. And altho but imperfect-
ly educated, was one of the most re-
markable men he ever knew. ' The
Governor arrived at the post on the
fifth of the month, at the same time
with the Delewares and their interpre-
ter, John Conner. This treaty was fin-
ally completed on the thirtieth day of
September, 1809 and no resort was had
to the evil influence of bribes or intoxi-
cants. ' '

The following summary of the life
and work of Judge Isaac Naylor, to
whom I have already referred, is from
an address made by Gen. Lew Wallace
at the dedication of the Montgomery
courthouse: "Isaac Naylor was a Vir-
ginian, born in 1792, brot to Kentucky
and, when seven or eight years old; to
Clarke county, Indiana; read law with
Supreme Judge Scott; served as a
soldier with Gen. Harrison in 1811,

when he removed to Crawfordsville;
was first a partner of Thomas J. Evans,
and then associated hiimself with Hen-
ry S. Lane; was elected circuit judge
by the legislature in 1838; served sev-
en years; was reelected; held second
term of six years; was then elected by
the people judge of the court of com-
mon pleas, and continued such for six
years. He died full of honors, in June
1837. He was thoroly imbued with the
principles of the system of pleading
yet found in Chitty. In the early time
his contemporaries called him famil-
iarly 'Old S. D.' (Special Demurrer.)"
He was the second judge of the cir-
cuit that then included Montgomery
and Fountain counties.

State Senator, Alva O. Reser, of La-
fayette, has perhaps given the most
careful study to the personal character
of the men who fought in the Battle
of Tippecanoe, and the following de-
scription of those who participated in
that battle is from Mr. Reser;

Gen. John Tipton impressed himself
I^erhaps more uj^on the early history of
Indiana than any other man, Capt.
Spencer 's company was raised fn Har-
rison county and Tipton was ensign in
it; he afterwards became United States
senator, bought the lond on which Tip-
pecanoe was fought and gave it to the
State of Indiana; he settled and lived
in Logansport. Tipton County was
named for him. He died in 1839 at the
age of 53.

White County was named for Isaac
White of Kentucky, a brave fellow who
was killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Wells County was named after Capt.
William H. Wells, who had been
brought up among the Miami Indians
and who gave the settlers of Vincennes
in southern Indiana, the first infor-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

mation that the Indians intended to
attack them. In 1812 Capt. Wells was
stationed at Ft. Dearborn, near Chica-
go, and was induced by the Indians to
have a council with them under a flag
of truce and was lured by them into
ambush, where Capt. Wells and all his
party were massacred.

Parke County was named for Capt.
Benjamin Parke, who fought in the
Battle of Tippecanoe; he was after-
wards a member of Congress from the
Territory of Indiana and was the first
United States District Judge for the
District of Indiana. In the latter part
of his life he became financially em-
barrassed, and unhesitatingly gave up
all his property for the benefit of his
creditors. So completely did he deny
himself that his family at their meals
drank out of tin cups. The wife of
Capt. Parke was named Betsy, and she
was held in such high esteem that more
baby daughters were named for her
than after any other lady in southern
Indiana.

Bartholomew County was named for
Joseph Bartholomew, who commanded
the infantry at the Battle of Tippeca-
noe; was formerly a citizen of Clarke
county; was severely wounded at the
Battle of Tippecanoe; he was a member
of the legislature in 1821 and 1824.
There is a portrait of General Bartholo-
mew in the court house at Columbus,
Indiana. He died in 1840.

Capt. Spier Spencer commanded the
company called ' ' The Yellow Jackets, ' '
which company occupied the ground at
the southern point of the battle-field.
Upon this company fell the brunt of the
battle and more men were killed in that
company than any other. During the
battle Capt. Spencer was wounded. J.
S. Pfrimmer, of Corydon, writes me:

'After Spencer was wounded he was
being carried to the rear by two
soldiers and while in their arms was
struck by a ball in the shoulder, which
ran lengthwise of his body and killed
him outright.'

Daviess county was named for Joseph
Hamilton Daviess, a brilliant orator and
distinguished citizen of Kentucky,
who was killed at the Battle of Tippe-
canoe. He had been United States Dis-
trict Attorney and prosecuted Aaron
Burr; he once challenged Henry Clay
to fight a duel, and he was once grand
master of the Masonic fraternity of
Kentucky.

Dubois county was named after Capt.
Toussant Dubois, who was the guide
to Tippecanoe, and who relied very
largely on Zackariah Cicot to guide the
army from Vincennes to The Prophet's
Town. He knew the route almost as
well as he had been a trader and often
traveled from Vincennes to Detroit, and
had great influence with the early
pioneers and the Indians. When Gen.
Harrison decided to move against the
Indians in 1811 Dubois offered his ser-
vices, and he was made captian of the
spies and scouts in the Tippecanoe cam-
paign; Dubois was the last man to vis-
it the headstrong Prophet on the even-
ing before the battle. Jesse Kilgore
Dubois, a son of Capt. Dubois, became
a warm personal friend of Abraham
Lincoln. United States Senator Fred
T. Dubois, of Idaho, was a grandson
of Capt. Dubois. On March 11, 1816,
Capt. Dubois attempted to swim the
Wabash river, not far from Vincennes,
on horseback, and was drowned.

Floyd county is by some supposed
to have been named after John Floyd,
a surveyor. By others, it is claimed
the county was named after Davis

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Floyd, who fought in the battle of Tip-
pecanoe. Davis Floyd was an ardent
friend of Aaron Burr, and was indicted
with him for treason, but when Burr
was acquitted, the prosecution against
Floyd was abandoned. He was an ad-
jutant in the Battle of Tippecanoe, and
was a member of the general assembly
of the Territory. His estate was set-
tled in Harrison county. He was ad-
mitted to the bar in Clarke county in
1817. In the early days he had been
a pilot on the Ohio river.

Warrick county was named after
Jacob Warrick, who fell at the Battle
of Tippecanoe. General Harrison
speaks of him in his report and said
that Warrick was his friend, in whom
he had placed great confidence, and
Harrison in his report says: "Warrick
was shot immediately thru the body.
On being taken to a surgeon to have
his wound dressed, as soon as it was
over, being a man of great vigor and
able to walk, he insisted on going back
to the head of his company, altho it
was evident he had but a few hours to
live.

Harrison county was named, of course
after William Henry Harrison, the hero
of Tippecanoe.

In 1840 great political meetings were
held at the Tippecanoe battle-ground.
This was called the singing campaign.

In other years political meetings hadj
been held on this spot. Here the little i
giant, Stephen A. Douglas, has spoken?
and in later years, Eoscoe Conkling,
James G! Blaine and others. I give
herewith a couple of stanzas from two
of the old political songs of the sing-
ing campaign of 1840.

Old Tippecanoe

Hurrah for the log cabin chief of our

joys;

For the old Indian fighter, hurrah!
Hurrah; and from mountain to valley
the voice
Of the people re-echoes hurrah!

Then come to the ballot box, boys come
along.
He who never lost a battle for you
Let us down with oppression and
tyranny 's throng,
And up with "Old Tippecanoe."

Tippecanoe and Tyler Too

Let them talk about hard cider, cider,
cider.

And log cabins too,
'Twill only help to speed the ball

For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too.
For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too —

Tippecanoe and Tyler, too,
And with them we'll beat little Van;

Van, Van, is a used-up man, I

And with them we'll beat little Van.

Indian Battles of 1812

The memorable massacre at Fort
Dearborn, where Chicago now stands,
is of interest to residents of the Wa-
bash valley because it was a part of the
same movement against the whites of

which I have told you in preceding
sketches and because some of the In-
dians from the Wabash were concern-
ed in it. Topenbee, the old Potawat-
ami chief, was present, but it is re-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

corded of him that he was opposed to
the massacre and it was thru his in-
strumentality that seven persons — the
Kinzie family, Mrs. Heald, Mrs. Helm
and Sergeant Griffith, escaped.

On the 9th of August, 1812, Cap-
tain Nathaniel Heald, who was in com-
mand of Fort Dearborn, the present site
of Chicago, received orders from Gene-
ral Hull, requiring the garrison at Fort
Dearborn to evacuate that post and
move to Detroit. Captain Wells, who
was with Harrison at Tippecanoe, and
for whom Wells county, Indiana, was
named, left Fort Wayne with about
thirty friendly Miami Indians, and ar-
rived at Fort Dearborn (now Chicago),
on the 13th day of August, 1812, the
purpose being to act as an escort to
the retiring garrison. On the 15th day
of August, the troops under the com-
mand of Captain Heald, consisting of
fifty-four regulars, and twelve militia,
evacuated Fort Dearborn, and after
marching about a mile and a half down
the lake from the fort, or about where
18th street would intersect the lake,
were attackt by a superior force
composed principally of Potawata-
mies. The Indians killed twenty-six reg-
ulars, all the militia, two women and
twelve children, and took twenty-eight
prisoners. Captain Wells was among
the killed. The losses of the Indians
amounted to about fifteen killed.

The Indian camp was located near
the fort, north of where the Marshall
Field store stands. The fort was north
of there, near the Eush street bridge,
and a tablet is set. into the wall of the
W. M. Hoyt building there recording
the fact. The fort was burned by the
Indians but was rebuilt In 1816.

At the foot of 18th street, near the
, lake shore, a granite monument sur-

mounted by a bronze statuary group
that is among the notable monuments
of the city, was erected by G'iorge M.
Pullman, to mark the site of the mass-
acre.

On the 16th day of August, 1812,
the town of Detroit, and the territory
of Michigan were surrendered by Gen.
Hull, without firing a gun, to the
British forces under the command of
General Brock. These successive, but
temporary triumphs, of the British
and Indian forces in the northwest
combined with other causes, induced
the Kickapoos, Potawatamies, Winne-
bagoes and other northwestern tribes
to take up arms against the United
States, and to send war parties to at-
tack the white settlements in the Ind-
iana territory.

In the early part of the month of
September, parties of hostile Indians
began to assemble, in considerable num-
bers, in the vicinity of Fort Wayne.
About the same time, a strong party
of warriors made an unsuccessful at-
tack on Fort Harrison (now Terre
Haute). Other bands of Indians pene-
trated the territory southeasterly as
far as the frontiers of Clark and Jef-
ferson counties, and massacred twenty-
four persons, at a place which was
called "the Pigeon Eoost settlement,"
and which was situated within the
present limits of Scott county.

On the evening of the 3d of Septem-
ber, two men, who were making hay in
the vicinity of Fort Harrison, were sur-
prised, killed and scalped by a scout-
ing party of Indians; and on the 4th
of September, about eleven o'clock at
night, a considerable body of Indians,
composed of Winnebagoes, Kickapoos,
Shawnees, Potawtamies and a few Mi-
amis, commenced an attack on the fort,

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

by setting fire to one of the block-
houses attaeht to it. Captain Zachary
Taylor (who afterwards Decame presi-
dent of the U. S.) and a small number
of the men under his command, bravely
resisted the attack, which continued
without intermission until about six
o'clock on the 5th of September, when
the Indians abandoned the assault and
retired beyond the guns of the fort.
In an official account of this action,
written on the 10th of September, 1812,
and addressed to Governor Harrison,
Captain Taylor said — "About eleven
o'clock I was awakened by the firing
of one of the sentinels. I sprang up,
ran out, and ordered the men to their
posts — when my orderly sergeant, who
had charge of the upper blockhouse,
called out that the Indians had fired
the lower blockhouse. * * * The guns
had begun to fire pretty smartly from
both sides. I directed the buckets to
be got ready, and water brought from
the well, and the fire extinguished im-
mediately, as it was perceivable at that
time; but from debility, or some other
cause, the men were very slow in exe-
cuting my orders. The word "Fire!"
appeared to throw the whole of them
into confusion, and by the time they
had got the water and broken open the
door, the fire had, unfortunately, com-
municated to a quantity of whiskey,
and, in spite of every exertion we
could make use of, in less than a mo-
ment it ascended to the roof, and baffled
every effort we could make to extin-
guish it. As the blockhouse adjoined
the barracks that make part of the
fortifications, most of the men immedi-
ately gave themselves up for lost, and I
had the greatest difficulty in getting my
orders executed. And, sir, what from
the raging of the fire — the yelling and

howling of several hundred Indians — ■
the cries of nine women and children,
(a part soldiers' and part citizens'
wives, who had taken shelter in the
fort,) and the desponding of so many
of the men, which was worse than all — J
I can assure you that my feelings were "
unpleasant. And, indeed, there were
not more than ten or fifteen men able
to do a good deal; the others being sick
or convalscent; and, to add to our
other misfortunes, two of the strongest
men of the fort, and that I had every jj
confidence in, jumped the pickets and
left us. But my presence of mind did
not for a moment forsake me. I saw,
by throwing off a part of the roof, that
joined the blockhouse that was on fire,
and keeping the end perfectly wet, the
whole row of buildings might be saved,
and leave only an entrance of eighteen j
or twenty feet for the entrance of the
Indians, after the house was consumed;
and that a temporary breastwork might
be erected to prevent their even enter-
ing there. I convincd the men that this
might be accomplished, and it appeared
to inspire them with new life; and never
did men act with more firmness and des-
peration. Those who were able (while
the others kept up a constant fire from
the other blockhouses and the two bas- "
tions) mounted the roofs of the houses,
with Dr. Clark at their head, (who act.
ed with the greatest presence of mind
the whole time the attack lasted, which
was about seven hours, under a shower
of bullets and in less than a moment
threw off as much of the roof as was

necessary.

* Altho the barracks

were several times ablaze, and an im- fl
mense quantity of fire against them, the "
men used such exertions that they kept
it under, and, before day, raised a tem-
porary breastwork as high as a man's

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

head, altho the Indians continued to
pour in a heavy fire of ball, and an im-
mense quantity of arrows during the
whole time the attack lasted. * * * Af-
ter keeping up a constant fire until
about six o 'clock the next morning,
which we began to return with some ef-
fect after daylight, they removed out
of the reach of our guns.. A party of
them drove up the horses that belonged
to the citizens here, and, as they could
not catch them very readily, shot the
whole of them in our sight, as well as
a number of their hogs. They drove
off the whole of the cattle, which
amounted to sixty-five head, as well as
the public oxen."

One of the men who jumped over the
pickets, when the fort was attacked,
was killed by the Indians. The other,
having received a severe wound, return-
ed to the fort and begged for admission.
After lying ' ' close to the pickets, be-
hind an empty barrel," until daylight,
he was permitted to enter the fort. Of
the men who remained in the fort, dur-
ing the attack, two were killed, and
two were wounded. The loss of the
Indians, which was very small, can not
be stated with certainty.

When information of the attack of
Fort Harrison was received at Vin-
cennes, about twelve hundred men, un-
der the command of Colonel William
Eussell, of the 7th regiment XJ. S. In-

fantry, marched from that place, for
the purpose of punishing the Indians,
and carrying relief to the besieged fort.
The force under the command of Col-
onel Eussell was composed of Colonel
Wilcox's regiment of Kentucky volun-
teers, three companies of rangers, and
two regiments of Indiana militia, com-
manded, respectfully, by Colonel Jor-
dan and Colonel Evans. When the
troops, without meeting with any oppo-
sition on their march, reacht Fort Har-
rison, on the 16th day of September,
the Indians had retired from the neigh-
borhood of that place. On the 15th
day of September, however, a small de.
tachment composed of eleven men,u n-
der the command of Lieutenant Eich-
ardson, and acting as an escort of pro-
visions sent from Vincinnes, to be de-
livered to Fort Harrison, was attackt
by a party of Indians, at a place which
was then called "the Narrows," and
which lies within the present limits
of Sullivan county. It was reported
that seven men of the escort were kill-
ed, and one wounded. The provisions
fell into the hands of the Indians.

The regiment of Kentucky volunteers
under the command of Colonel Wilcox,
remained at Fort Harrison. The two
regiments of Indiana militia, and three
companies of rangers, which marcht
to the relief of the fort, returned to
Vincennes.

The Second Battle of Tippecanoe

So much has been written of the Bat-
tle of Tippecanoe and its importance
because it disrupted the confederacy
which Tecumseh was forming among
the Indians for the purpose of retain-

ing their lands, that there are few per-
sons, even in this vicinity, who are
aware that there was a second battle
near Tippecanoe or The Prophet 'a
Town in which the Indians were really

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

the victors. Like the first battle it
marked the climax of an expedition
sent up the Wabash which included
more men than accompanied General
Harrison the year before. The ex-
pedition was like the first one too in
that it included a man who afterwards
became president of the United States.

About the first of November, 1812,
General Samuel Hopkins began to or-
ganize a military force composed main-
ly of infantry for the purpose of pene-
trating the Indian country as far as
The Prophet 's Town, marching from
Vincennes to Fort Harrison (Terre
Haute), then up the river to The
Prophet's Town, destroying the Indian
villages along the river and any vil-
lages that they might find at or near
The Prophet's Town. The troops which
were employed in this exploration by
General Hopkins consisted of three reg-
iments of Kentucky militia, command-
ed by Colonels Barbour, Miller and
Wilcox, a small company of regulars
commanded by Captain Zachariah Tay-
lor, (afterwards president of the
United States), and a company of
scouts or spies under command of Cap-
tain Washburn. Among the spies of
Captain Washburn was Peter Weaver,
who afterwards became one of the
first settlers of Fountain county and
the first settler in Tippecanoe county.

This army started at once from Vin-
cennes, arrived at Fort Harrison on the
5th day of November, and on the 11th
day of November left Fort Harrison
following the road made by Governor
Harrison 's army the year previous and
the boats set out at the same time. On
account of the danger it was necessary
to guard the army very carefully. There
had been a heavy rain and the waters
were high in the Wabash but it was

not out of its banks altho the creeks
were so high that they could be crosst
only with diflficulty, danger and em-
barrassment. They reached the mouth
of Sugar creek on the 14th day of No-
vember. From there the entire army,
with the exception of those in the boats,
marched on the east side of the Wa-
bash river because the Vermillion river
and Pine creek and other impediments
on the west side led them to believe
that they could make the trip easier
on the east side of the river. They
had their provisions, rations, and mili-
tary stores in the boats. Their line
of march was near the river so as to
cover and protect the boats carrying
their provisions. Lieut. Col. Barbour
with one batallion of his regiment had
command of the seven boats, but campt
at nights on the bank of the river with
the rest of the army. On account of
the boats they moved slowly and
reacht The Prophet's Town on the
19th of November 1812. On the morn-
ing of the 19th three hundred men
were detached to surprise the Winne-
bago town on Wild Cat creek, about
one mile from the Wabash river and
four miles below The Prophet's Town.
This party was under the command of
General Butler. They surrounded the
Winnebago town about daybreak but
found it evacuated. They found in the
town about forty shacks, many of them
being from thirty to fifty feet in
length, besides many temporary huts
in the surrounding prairie where the
Indians had cultivated a good deal of
corn. On the 20th, 21st and 22d, this
army completely destroyed The Proph-
et's Town, which had about forty
cabins and huts. Below it was a large
Kickapoo village, on the west side of
the river, consisting of about 160

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

cabins and huts. They also destroyed
this town. These Kickapoos had corn
stored for the winter and this also was
destroyed. Seven miles east of the
Prophet's Town on Wild Cat creek, a
party of Indians fired on a detachment
of this army, on the 21st day of No-
vember and killed a man by the name
of Dunn. On the 22d of November
about sixty men, under the command
of Lieutenant Colonels Miller and Wil-
cox started on horseback to bury Dunn
and get a more complete knowledge of
the ground. They marcht to a point
near the Indian encampment, fell in-
to an ambuscade and 19 of the party
were reported killed, wounded and
missing.

On the return of the party it \vas
learned that a large assemblage of In-
diana, encouraged by the strength of
tiieir camp and this victory were wait-
it g the approach of Hopkins' armj-, and
this army at once made every prepara-
tion for an early march to engage the
enemy in battle at any risk. There
arose a violent storm with a heavy fall
of snow and the coldest weather that
these soldiers from the South had ever
seen or felt at that season of the year.
This delayed any further action until
the 24th of November,

When Hopkins' army reacht the In-
dian camp they found it deserted, the
Indians having crossed Wild Cat creek.

Mr. Hopkins says in his report, "I
have no doubt but that the ground the
Indians had taken was the strongest I
have ever seen. The deep, rapid creek
was in their rear, running in a semi-
circle and fronted by a bluff one hund-
red feet high, almost perpendicular,
and could only be penetrated by three
steep ravines. After reconnoitering
sufficiently we returned to camp and

found the ice so accumulated as to
alarm us for the return of the boats.
I had fully intended to have spent one
more week in endeavoring to find the
Indian camp but the shoeless, shirtless
state of the troops now clad in the
remnants of their summer dress, a river
full of ice, the hills covered with snow,
a rigid climate, and no certain point
to which we could further direct our
operations, under the influence and ad-
vice of every staff and field officer,
orders were given and measures pur-
sued for our return on the 25th."

General Hopkins writes later, "We
are now progressing to Fort Harrison
(down the Wabash river, thru ice and
snow, where we expect to arrive on the
last day of this month. Before I close
this I cannot forbear expressing the
merits of the officers and the soldiers
of this command. After leaving Fort
Harrison, all unfit for duty, we had, in
privates of every count, about one
thousand, in the total twelve hundred
and fifty men. At The Prophet's Town
upwards of one hundred of these were
on the sick report. Yet, sire, have we
progressed in such order as to menace
our enemy free from annoyance, and
seven large keel boats have been cover-
ed and protected to a point heretofore
unknown in Indian expeditions. Three
large Indian establishments have been
burnt and destroyed with near three
miles of fence and all the corn and food
that we could find. The enemy have
been sought in their strongholds and
every opportunity afforded them to at-
tack or alarm us. We marcht on the
east side of the Wabash, without roads,
or cognizance of the country fully one
hundred miles and this has been done
with a naked army of infantry aided
by only aboiit fifty rangers and spies.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

All this was done in twenty days; no
sigh, no murmur, no complaint. ' '

The detachment which fell into the
ambuscade on the 25th of November
was composed of Capt. Beck's company
of rangers, several officers of the army
and a small number of mounted militia.
Before starting out that morning, each
man drew a pint of whiskey. They
had not drawn whiskey for some time
before this and perhaps this whiskey
did not help matters much. Capt. Lit-
tle says, in speaking of this battle, ' ' We
rode on rapidly about a mile and a
quarter when we found ourselves among
and surrounded by Indians in hundreds,
they fired on us in all directions as
thick as hail. We immediately found
that we were not able to fight them. I
was shot in the body near the hip bone.

We retreated in every kind of disorder
the best way we could. I was still able
to ride and got out to camp where we
found that we had lost sixteen killed
and three wounded."

On the 18th day of December, 1812,
General Samuel Hopkins announced, in
general orders issued at Vincennes, his
determination to retire from military
life, and, while in his reports he com-
mends all the officers, including Zaeh-
ariah Taylor, his resignation upon the
return of the army to Vincennes is evi-
dence that he did not consider it an
expedition that had added any great
amount of honor to the American arms.
And this was the last of the battles
that the fading red men of the forest
had with the white men in the Wabash
Valley,

The Wabash Valley I 00 Years Ago

After General Hopkins, and the
twelve hundred and fifty men, who
were with him when he made his march
up the Wabash river and destroyed
The Prophet's Town (Tippecanoe) and
the villages about it, had their un-
pleasant experiences and discomfort
from the cold November storm, the
sickness among the men. The loss of
life discouraged the Hoosier militia
and Kentucky Indian fighters, and no
more raids were made against the In-
dians of this locality. The Prophet,
and most of his Shawnee warriors went
to Detroit or northern Indiana. Te-
cumseh was killed that year and there
remained in this locality the Kicka-
poos, Delawares, Wyandottes, Pota-
watomies and Miamis. After the
Treaty of Peace, which followed the

war of 1812, the British left Detroit
and the Northwest Territory and their
emissaries left the Wabash Valley, and
rewards were no longer paid for the
scalps of white women and children.
The United States government had
previously obtained most of the land
by treaty and the hope of a confeder-
acy died with Tecumseh. Yet, these
tribes of Indians lingered in the lands
of their fathers, a land rich in future
possibilities, flowing more richly with
milk and honey, and more to be desired
than the promised land of the Iseral-
ites. Occasionally, a venturesome
traveler from the settlements south
and east wandered into the upper Wa-
bash Valley in his restless search for
brighter prospects, better and cheaper
lands and more promising possibilities

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

for himself, his family and his poster-
ity.

This interval covers a period of ten
years or more from the Hopkins'
march in 1812 to the survey and open-
ing of this part of the country for set-
tlement. During this ten years the re-
maining Indians were undisturbed.
Theirs was a race in its childhood and
they should have been treated as child-
ren. They did not know the value of
their lands, or what their treaties real-
ly meant. Perhaps they knew they
would soon have to leave this beautiful
valley forever and somewhere beneath
the inverted bowl of heaven decorated
at night with sparkling diamonds, find
a hunting-ground. But there was still
game here and they could still enjoy
the chase. They burned the underbrush
and grass of woodland and prairie ev-
ery fall or spring. The blue grass and
grass of all kinds flourished everwhere.
The prophet Isaiah has said; "The
voice said. Cry. And he said, What
shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all
the goodliness thereof is as the flower
of the field." And Senator John G.
Ingalls said ' ' Grass is the forgiveness
of nature." And here in the Wabash
Valley, grass grew everywhere.

In the springtime the air was filled
with the perfume of blossom of shrub
and vine and tree. Nature, the master
mechanic and landscape gardener, had
full sway in prairie, hill and valley.
The hawthorn, the dogwood and the
sarvis berry bloomed on the crest of
the hills and higher grounds, the red-
bud trees blazed forth on the sloping
hillside and the somber brown of the
pawpaws' bloom in the valleys, were
all entwined in the loving embrace of
the wild grapevine. The brown thrush
sang his sweet and varied notes learned

from birds in a distant land, as he
perched in a clump of hazel brush;
while from the midst of a bower of
crab-apple blossoms, alive with insects
and bees gathering their wealth of nec-
tar from the flowers, the blue-jay
sounded his defiance. And from the
woods about mingled the song of many
birds, rivalled in its charm only by the
beauty of their plumage. And the red
man could exclaim with Solomon in his
song "For, lo, the winter is past, the
rain is over and gone. The flowers ap-
pear on earth; the time of the singing
of birds is come and the voice of the
dove is heard in our land; the fruit
tree putteth forth her green fruit, and
the vines with the tender grape
give a good smell."

And then the summer came and the
green leaves were full in size and
growth and the young deer and buffalo
went forth in their growing strength
thru the forests and grass of the prairie
and their strength and speed increast
with age, and many a wild beast
quencht its thirst in the refreshing cool-
ness of the flowing streams of clear
water. The young birds flew among
the branches of the forest, and the
seeds of berries were ripe, the grass-
hopper and the cricket called and
everywhere insects swarmed, some in
deep hued colors, and the butterflies,
gorgeous in their dress, lazily floated
in air and sought for a place of safety
to deposit their larvae.

Autumn came and the huckleberry
was ripe on the bush, a few raspberries
and blackberries lingered yet on the
vine and the wild gooseberry blusht
in the thicket; the pawpaws were fall-
ing from the trees, and many varieties
of wild plums could be gathered. Many
a deserted bird's nest yet hung in the

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

leatherwood, water beech and kinnikin-
nick, and a large hornet 's nest would
swing occasionally from a limb of the
sassafras or ironwood. And the hickory
nuts would fall; and the hazel nut
could be gathered in its brown shell;
the walnuts were steadily drooping
while the butternut lingered for a more
telling frost; the golden-rod and the
purple ironweed were profuse in their
growth; the black-birds and wild
pigeons and waterfowl came in such
droves that they would obscure the sun;
the clatter of the industrious wood-
pecker working on a dead limb of a
distant tree; and the call of the hermit
thrush in the timber could be heard
while the wild goose honkt high at the
apex of his living triangle; and the
quack of the mallard as he floated to
the deeper waters in pristine beauty
gave the danger signal to his com-
panions. And then Jack Frost came
and breathed on the leaf of tree and
shrub and vine, spreading his enchant-
ment over woods and hill and valley,
enriching it all with a variation of col-
or and artistic beauty, the envy of a
Eaphael or an Corot, yet a secret in
the chemistry of art which Jack refuses
to reveal, a beauty in richness and col-
or that we may yet enjoy as well as did
the red man when he was here.

Then soon the leaves fell and the
limbs of the trees were bare and the
winds piled the fallen leaves in the
hollows in the woods. The snows came
and the streams and ponds froze over
and the migrating birds with their
beauty of feathered plumage and sweet-
ness of song had taken their trackless
flight to a more congenial clime in the
sun-kist land of the South. Yet the
game birds and the wild game of the
forest lingered and had grown fat on

grass and fruits and nuts; the ponds
and the streams were full of fish; the
corn had been pluckt in the roastiug
ear and stored for winter use, and
now the braves could go to the chase
for flesh for food and skins for cloth-
ing and winter tents. The women and
children were in the camps and all
were happy; the crow would caw by day
and the owl would hoot at night; the
timber wolf would bark, and the pan-
the scream in the woods and all this
was a part of life to the red men of
the Wabash.

Beneath the spreading branches of a
linden tree, a dusky maid of the forest
stood and listened to tlie music of the
divine orchestra of insects, bees and
birds; a squirrel sprang gracefully from
a limb and barked with delight at her
presence; the earth beneath her feet
was carpeted in green «nd decorated
with the various colors of the spring
flowers; the clear water of a spring
from the lips of mother earth in a
stream nearby rippled and bubbled as
it flowed over boulder, rock and pebble,
and joined its voice in harmonious ap-
proval in the expression of the sweet-
ness of life and the beauty of the earth
and the scene that environed the maid-
en, the gentle zephyrs of the spring
time played among the leaves of the
trees and forests, and the sunshine
fell between them. The maiden was
alarmed by the plaintive cry of a doe,
awakened from its restful sleep, and she
moved noislessly toward it when a large
buck sounded the alarm of danger and
it and the mother deer and the little
one bounded away and disappeared in
the forest. Then a young brave, perfect
in form and feature, with cap and
feather, bow and arrow, joined the
maiden. And love was then abroad in

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

the Valley of the Wabash. And they
plighted their troth and loved, and
wooed, and married.

In after years, in another clime, on
a western plain, ended the delightful
enchantment of pleasant memories of
their youthful romance. Ever they pon-
dered on the beauty of the land of their
childhood where they had wandered to-
gether beneath the trees of the forest
and together they often journeyed thru
the land of memory back to the Valley
of the Wabash where they had joined
their fortunes and their hands beneath
a sky where the stars sang together,
where the grass grew green and the
water was clear; where the air was fill-
ed with the sweet perfume of flowers
and the birds sang a joyous song.
K Captain Schuyler LaTourette recent-
ly said: "When my mother and father
were married in the state of New Jer-
sey they arranged to start at once for
the Wabash Valley, to take up land
and make a permanent home. My
mother bade farewell to her mother and
father, her sisters and brothers, forever,
and never expected to see them again,
and, yet, they did not part with tear-
stained eyes. She sparkled with young
life, and was aglow with youth and joy,
and gladly faced the future before her,
taking her place as a helpmate to her

husband and life companion. And to-
gether they came to the Wabash Valley
to take their part and bear their share
of the toil, the patience, the love and
the hope that comes in rearing a fam-
ily. And together my father and
mother did their part in winning the
West and building an empire. They
need no monument to beg memory to
them for by their devotion, their friend-
ships and the service, happily and glad-
ly done by them in their day and gene-
ration, they have erected a monument
to themselves in the hearts of their
neighbors and their children more last-
ing than metal, more enduring than
stone. And my parents were only one
couple among the many who left a dis-
tant state or distant country to come to
the Wabash Valley and the State of
Indiana to take their part and their
place as good useful citizens among the
common folks in building a state and
making a nation. ' '

As the dusky sweethearts left the
land of their youth forever, the pale-
face and his bride came to clear the
forest, cultivate the land, build homes
and schools, make townships, counties,
cities and states, and lay the foundation
for the civilization and culture that
have made the state of Indiana and the
Wabash Valley known the world over.

The Jesuit Priests and Father Gibault

It was my intention to write some-
thing of the French Jesuit priests
among the first articles in these
sketches but I found it rather hard to
get the correct information and I am
indebted to my friend, Ameil Weber,

who furnisht me with much of the
material that I have been trying to get.
Mr. Weber is a resident of Attica and
a Wabash operator at Buck Creek; he
was born and raised in Attica and is
well posted on the history of the Catho-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

lie church. And, whether one be a
Protestant or a Catholic (or a monistic
rationalist and unbeliever like myself)
if fair-minded, he will hate bigotry,
which not only destroys mutual friend-
ly relations but undermines the very
peace and tranquility of every com-
munity. Most bigotry in the world
comes from ignorance and misunder-
standing. Errors may be corrected,
ignorance dispelled, and truth con-
vincingly proven, and I know enough
of the Protestant and the Catholic to
know that if they understood each
other better they would be less preju-
diced toward each other.

The history of the Wabash Valley
cannot be truthfully and accurately
written without paying respect to the
black-robed Jesuit priest.

Before the Northwest Territory was
so designated, or even described or
known the Catholic missionary was
here and there were log chapels, sur-
mounted by the cross, among the Indian
villages in the Valley of the Wabash.
Fifty years before Indiana was admit-
ted into the Union as a state there
were Catholic congregations, with
priests who both preacht and establisht
pioneer schools, and they were first
among the pioneers and among the
principal actors in the great deeds of
early history which gave the Wabash
territory to the American republic.
Perhaps the black-robed Jesuit priests
were among the first white men to come
into the Wabash Valley, and in this
section they were active participants in
the events preceding the Revolution-
ary war. To the fact that the Catho-
lic missionaries and the pioneer Catho-
lic laymen were here General George
Eogers Clark was enabled to take the
Northwest Territory from the British

and add to the domain of the United
States what are now the great free
commonwealths of Indiana, Ohio, Mich-
igan, Illinois, Minnesota and Wiscon-
sin, so the Catholics of the Wabash
Valley naturally have intense interest
in the celebration of Indiana's Centen-
nial. In an early history of Indiana,
written by Goodrich and Tuttle, the
following paragraph appears: "The
first white man who visited the terri-
tory, now Indiana, was a Jesuit mission-
ary, who came from the old French
mission of St. Joseph, on the shores
of Lake Michigan, which was the oldest
Jesuit Mission in the Lake region; this
missionary came to the Miami Indians
in 1675." There are those who claim,
and I believe correctly, that the Jesuit
fathers were visitors at Ouiatenon and
Vincennes as early i^fl 1666. The first
record of a baptism at Vincennes was
on June 25, 1749; and this record
Bishop Alerding, in his book, declares
is the earliest Catholic record in the
state. It was signed by Sebastian Meu-
rin, doubtless one of the early Jesuit
missionaries. According to Jacob P.
Dunn, in his history of Indiana, the
countrymen of LaSalle and Joliet had
penetrated the wilds of Indiana and
the Wabash Valley as early as 1670.
Doubtless there were many of the
Jesuit missionaries wearing their robes
of black, and with nothing but the
open hand of friendship ready to clasp
the hand of the red man and kindly ad-
minister to his needs in the Wabash
Valley, whose deeds have been forgot-
ten, and whose service is not recorded
in its annals. I shall quote only a little
from the voyage of Joliet and Mar-
quette to show the motive that lead
them and the sentiment that inspired
them. Marquette wrote:

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

"Our joy at being chosen for this
expedition aroused our courage and
sweetened the labor of rowing from
morning to night, as we were going to
seek unknown countries. We took all
precaution that if our enterprise was
hazardous it should not be foolhardy.
For this reason we gathered all possible
information from the Indians, who had
frequented those parts, and even from
their accounts traced a map of all the
new countries, marking down the
rivers on which we were to sail, the
names of the nations, and the places
thru which we were to pass, the course
of the river and what direction we
should take when we got to it." And
again he says, in speaking of M. Joliet
and M. Tallon, joining him in the voy-
age to make discoveries, "I was more
enraptured at this good news as I saw
my designs on the point of being ac-
complisht and myself in the happy
necessity of exposing my life for the
salvation of all these nations. * * * *
We were not long in preparing our out-
fit, altho we were embarking on a
voyage, the duration of which we could
not foresee. Indian corn, with some
dried meats, was our whole stock of
provisions. With this we set out in our
two bark canoes, M. Joliet, myself and
five men, firmly resolved to do all and
suffer all for so glorious an enterprise. ' '
This is the spirit with which the
Jesuit father carried his tidings of
great joy to the untutored red men
of the Wabash Valley.

A chief of the Fox Indians, speaking
of the Franciseian missionaries, (who
wore gray coats, while the Jesuit
Fathers wore black gowns as the dis-
tinctivemark of their sect), said:
' * These graycoats we value very much,
they go barefooted as well as we; they

scorn our beaver gowns, and decline all
other presents, they do not carry arms
to kill, they flatter and make much of
our children, and give them knives and
other toys, without expecting any re-
ward. * * * * The fathers of the gown
have given up all to come to see us,
therefore you, who are captain over
all these men, be pleased to leave with
us one of these graycoats, whom we
will conduct to our village, when we
have killed what we desire of the buf-
falo." And this shows conclusively
that the red men of the forest ap-
preciated the kindness of the early
Catholic priests.

The coming of Father Pierre Gibault
from Quebec to the Wabash, in 1770,
was not only an auspisious event for
the extension of the faith of Catholi-
cism but a fortunate circumstance for
the young requblic of the United States
of America which was then not yet con-
ceived even in the mind of Thomas
Paine.

Pierre Gibault, the honored and be-
loved pastor of St. Francis Xavier
Catholic church,Vincennes, Indiana,
from the year 1785 to 1789, was born
in the City of Montreal, Canada, on the
7th day of April, 1737, son of Peter
Gibault and Mary St. Jean Gibault.
In his early childhood he studied for
the priesthood and became a mission-
ary among the Indians and Canadians
of the Northwest. As soon as he was
ordained a priest at Quebec Seminary
he started without delay for the Miss-
issippi, Ohio and Wabash valleys. He
arrived on Lake Michigan in July, 1768,
stayed but one week and proceeded at
once to Kaskaska, Illinois, arriving
there in the fall. There he was wel-
comed by all classes and out of what-
ever chaos existed before his arrival

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

under his service soon union and har-
mony prevailed. In 1769 he reacht
Vincennes where the inhabitants re-
ceived him with tears of joy.

Eev. Devernai had been kidnapt in
the fall of 1763, and, to use Gibault 's
own language in his letter to the Bis-
hop of Quebec, dated June 15, 1770,
"On their knees they said 'Father save
us, we are almost in hell.' " He stay-
ed there almost two months. There
were between 700 and 800 people in
Vincennes at that time. He was a man
of refinement and culture, very precise
and exact in the discharge of the duties
devolving upon him.

In the year 1808, a resolution was
adopted by the legislature of Virginia
whereby the service of Eev. Pierre Gi-
bault to General George Eogers Clark
was acknowledged. Next to Clark and
Vigo the Wabash Valley, the State of
Indiana and the United States, are in-
debted to Father Gibault, for the
acquisition of the states comprised in
what was the original Northwest Terri-
tory, and Father Gibault should share
honors with Clark since the fact that
Clark was successful in this enterprise,
was largely due to the exertions and in-
fluence of this patriotic priest.

Before the coming of Clark, Father
Gibault had spoken to large audiences
in Vincennes, in the old fort, and set
forth the possibilities of the new re-
public in such glowing terms that the
natives were all ready to swear al-
legiance to the American cause. He
himself administered the oath of al-
legiance for the first time in the Wa-
bash Valley, and thru his influence the
American flag was hoisted over the old
fort in Vincennes in February, 1778,
The English soldiers were not present
when this happened and when the news

reacht them a force under Gov. Hamil-
ton was sent to take possession of the
fort, which they did without opposi-
tion. On account of this action, having
incurred the displeasure of the English,
Father Gibault was forced to leave Vin-
cennes and returned to Kaskaskia,
which ultimately proved a great ad-
vantage to the American cause and was
the means of wresting from England
the entire northwest. It was fortunate
indeed that Father Gibault was in
charge of Kaskaskia when Clark ap-
proacht that place on his expedition
of conquest in July, 1778. Surrounding
the town Clark met with no opposition
and on the morning of July 5, 1778,
according to Clark 's memoirs, a few
of the principal men were arrested.
Soon afterwards however. Father Gi-
bault and five or six citizens waited on
Clark and askt permission to assemble
in the church. Clark told the priest
that he had nothing to say against his
religion, that it was a matter that
Americans left for every man to settle
with his God. This pleased Father Gi-
bault and nearly the whole population
gathered at the church and selected
their noble pastor to make all arrange-
ments with Clark as to his intentions.
The priest askt the favor of allowing
the wives and children of the men to
remain with one another and he was
told by Clark that it was to prevent
the horrors of Indian butchery upon
women and children that he had
taken up arms and penetrated into this
remote stronghold of British and Indian
barbarity.

Clark was not sufficiently strong to
reach Kaskaskia and lead an expedition
against Vincennes, and after a long
conference with Gibault, it was decid-
ed that Father Gibault would visit Vin-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

cennes himself, which was agreeable
to all interested. Arriving in Vin-
eennes he explained the American
cause and all swore allegiance to the
United States. Gov. Hamilton then set
out from Detroit with a large force
and once more occupied the fort at
Vincennes. Again Pierre Gibault, the
patriotic priest, was ready to sacrifice,
and with his love of liberty and un-
daunted courage he furnisht Clark with
two companies of Illinois troops, all
Catholics and members of his church;
one under command of McKay and the
other under the command of Francis
Chareville. Francis Vigo, who was at
that time a devout Catholic, was also
enlisted by his pastor. Clark himself
knew nothing concerning Vincennes,
neither did any of his men, but Gi-
bault, the patriotic priest, possest the
requisite knowledge and influence, and
while it was winter and the streams
were out of their banks the priest ad-
vised Clark to proceed at once. Ac-
cordingly, after the soldiers had listen-
ed to an address and received the bless-
ing of the priest, in February 1779,
Clark and his army of about 170 men
started for Vincennes. When the ex-
pedition arrived there Gibault had pro-
vided for their crossing the Wababh
Eiver and also planned to have pro-
visions furnisht when the expedition
arrived exhausted, weary and hungry.
So successful was this expedition that
George Eogers Clark captured the fort
without the loss of a life.

Eegardless of the splendid and valu-
able service rendered to the country by
Father Gibault, he was never rewarded

in any manner by the government, and
in 1790, after a life of toil and struggle,
he resided in poverty and destitution
at Kahokia, Illinois. In that year he
petitioned Gov. St. Claire for the grant
of a few acres of land near that place
for a home to shelter him in his old
age; unfortunately Father Gibault was
refused even this slight recognition of
his valuable services and the records
are at variance as to when and where
he died. The place of his burial is un-
known. Thus ended the career of one
of America's noble-hearted, zealous and
patriotic heroes. His achievements
may never be fully appreciated, his
glory may go unsung, yet it is to be
hoped that this patriotic priest of the
Wabash Valley will be given this year
the glory, the honor and the place in
the history and conquest of the north-
west, that is so justly his.

If I should leave out of these sketches
a tribute to this gentle, untiring Catho-
lic priest; if I should fail to recall his
sainted memory, and link it with that
of George Eogers Clark and the other
noble and heroic souls whose labors
were united on that victorious march
to Vincennes, my story would be lack-
ing in the truth, beauty and influence
that makes history valuable.

Like a golden chain, linking the
past to the present in the rosary of
years, is the record of the pioneer mis-
sionary, the glory of whose labors rest
like a benediction on every hill and
stream along the Wabash Valley and
whose names, like incense, are redolent
with deeds of kindness, chivalry and
valor.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Indiana's Admission to Statehood

The war of 1812 was concluded by
the Treaty of Peace signed at Ghent,
on the 24th day of December, 1814,
and ratified by the President of the
United States with the consent of the
Senate on the 17th day of December,
1814. And on the first Monday of
December in 1815 the General Assem-
bly of Indiana Territory met at Cory-
don. The sickness of Gov. Posey, who
resided at Jeffersonville, prevented his
attendance at the seat of govrrnment
on the opening of the session and he
sent his message to the two houses by
his private secretary, Col. Allen D.
Thon. In this message, which was very
brief, the Governor congratulated the
members of the legislature on the ter-
mination of the war by an honorable
peace. He alluded to the tide of im-
migration, which was then flowing into
the territory, and advised the levying
of taxes as light as might be compat-
ible with the public interests. He in-
vited the legislature to turn its atten-
tion to the promotion of education and
the state roads and highways, and he
recommended a revision of the territor-
ial laws and an amendment of the mili-
itia system. The legislature, during the
course of its session, which lasted about
a month, passed thirty-rne laws and
seven joint resolutions. These acts
were not, however, designed to make
any material change in the existing
laws of the territory. The attention of
the members of the General Assembly
was, indeed, engaged chiefly in the
making of public and private efforts to
change their territorial institutions for
those of a state government.

A memorial, which was adopted by
the legislature of Indiana territory on
the 14th of December, 1815, and laid
before Congress by Jonathan Jennings,
the territorial delegate in Congress, on
the 28th day of the same month, con-
tains the following pasages: "Where-s
as, the ordinance of Congress for the
government of this territory (Indiana)
has provided that whenever there shall
be sixty thousand free inhabitants
there this territory shall be admitted
into the Union on an equal footing with
the original states. And whereas, by
census, taken by the authority of the
legislature of this territory, it appears
from the returns that the number of
free white inhabitants exceed sixty
thousand, we, therefore, pray the hon-
orable Senate and House of Eepresenta-
tives, in Congress assembled, to order
an election to be conducted agreeable
to the existing laws of this territory,
to be held in the several counties of
this territory on the first Monday of
May, 1816, for representatives to meet
in convention at the seat of government

of this territory the day of

1816, who when assembled shall deter-
mine by majority of the votes of all
the members elected whether it will
b expedient, or inexpedient, to go into
a state government, and, if it be deter-
mined expedient, the convention thus
assembled shall have the power to
form a constitution and frame govern-
ment, or, if it be deemed inexpedient,
to provide for the election of represent-
atives to meet in convention at some
future period to form a constitution.
* * * And whereas, the inhabitants of

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

this territory are principally composed
of emigrants from every part of the
Union and as various in their customs
and sentiments as in their persons, we
think it prudent, at this time, to ex-
pres to the general government our at-
tachment to the fundamental principles
of legislation prescribed by Congress in
their ordinance for the government of
this territory, particularly as respects
personal freedom and involuntary ser-
vitude, and hope they may be continued
as the basis of the constitution.

The memorial was referred by Con-
gress to a committee of which Mr. Jen-
nings was chairman, and on the 5th of
January, 1816, these gentlemen reported
to the House of Eepresentatives of the
United States a bill to enable the people
of Indiana territory to form a consti-
tution and state government and for
the admission of such state into the
Union on an equal footing with the orig-
inal states. This bill, after having
been amended in some of its partic-
ulars, was passed by Congress and be-
came a law by the approval of the Pres-
ident of the United States on the 19th
day of April, 1816. In conformity with
the provisions of this law an election
for members of a convention, to form a
constitution, was held in the several
counties of the territory on Monday, the
13th day of May, 1816. The members
of the convention were elected accord-
ing to an apportionment which had
been made by the territorial legislature
and confirmed by an Act of Congress.

At this time there were thirteen coun-
ties in the State of Indiana, and their
population was as follows: Knox 8,068,
Franklin 7,370, Washington 7,317, Clark
7,150, Harrison 6,795, Wa-yne 6,407,
Gibson 5,330, Dearborn 4,424, Jefferson
4,270, Switzerland 1,382, Perry 1,720,

Posey 1,619, Warrick 1,415. Total 63,-
897.

The Act of Congress of the 19th of
April, 1816, to enable the people of In-
diana Territory to form a constitution
and state government contained certain
conditions and propositions with respect
to boundaries, jurisdiction, school lands,
salt springs, and lands for seat of gov-
ernment. All of these conditions and
propositions were ratified and accepted
by an ordinance which was passed by
the territorial convention at Corydon
on the 28th day of June, 1816.

The convention that formed the first
constitution of the state of Indiana was
composed mainly of clear-minded, un-
pretending men of common sense, whose
patriotism was unquestioned and whose
morals were fair. Their familiarity
with the theories of the Declaration of
American Independence, their territor-
ial experiences under the provision of
Ordinances of 1787, and their know-
ledge of the principles of the Constitu-
tion of the United States was sufficient
when combined to lighten materially
their labors in the great work of form-
ing a constitution for a new state. With
such landmarks in view the labors of
similar conventions in other states and
territories have been rendered compar-
atively light, in the clearness and con-
scientiousness of its style, in the com-
prehensive and just provisions which it
made for the maintainance of civil and
religious liberty, in its mandates, which
were designed to protect the rights of
the people, collectively and individu-
ally, and provide for the public wel-
fare, the constitution that was formed
for Indiana in 1816 was not inferior to
any of the state constitutions which
were in existence at that time.

The officers of the territorial govern-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

ment of Indiana, including the govern-
or, secretary, judges and all other offi-
cers, civil and military, were required
by the provision of the state constitu«
tion to continue in the exercise of the
duties of their respective offices until
they should be superseded by officers
elected under the authority of the state
government. The president of the con-
vention that formed the constitution
was required to issue writs of election,
directed to the several sheriffs of the
several counties, requiring them to
cause an election to be held for gover-
nor, lieutenant governor, representative
to the congress of the United States,
members of the General Assembly, sher-
iffs and coroners, at the respective elec-
tion districts in each county on the first
Monday in August, 1816. At the gener-
al election which was held at this time
in the several counties of the territory
Jonathan Jennings was elected governor
of Indiana. He received 5,211 votes,
and his competitor, Thomas Posey, who
was then governor of the territory, re-
ceived 3,934 votes. Christopher Har-
rison, of Washington county, was elect-
ed lieutenant governor, and William
Hendrix was elected to represent In-
diana in the Congress of the United
States.

The first General Assembly, elected
under the authority of the state con-

stitution, commenced its session at
Corydon, on Monday, the 4th of Nov- -
ember, 1816. John Paul was called to
the chair of the senate pro tempore, and
Isaac Blackford was elected speaker of
the House of Eepresentatives. On
Thursday, November 7th, the oath of
ofiice was administered to Governor
Jennings and to Lieutenant Governor
Harrison in the presence of both houses.
Immediately after which Governor Jen-
nings delivered his first message to the
General Assembly.

The territorial government of Indi-
ana was thus superceded by a state gov-
ernment on the 7th day of November,
1816, and the State of Indiana was for-
mally admitted to the Union by a joint
resolution of Congress approved on the
11th of December, in the same year.
On the 8th of November, 1816, the gen-
eral assembly, by a joint vote of both
houses, elected James Noble and Waller
Taylor to represent Indiana in
the Senate of the United States. Sub-
sequent joint balloting resulted in the
election of Eobert A. New, Secretary of
State; William H. Lilley, Auditor of
Public Accounts, and Daniel C. Lane,
Treasurer of State. The session of the
first General Assembly of the State of
Indiana was closed by final adjourn-
ment on the 3rd of January, 1817.

The First White Settler of Fountain County

A hundred years ago the star of em-
pire was moving westward with great
rapidity and the new state of Indiana
was being filled with the younger gen-
eration of the best families from the
eastern states. As word came back

from those who had penetrated into
the new country telling of the wonder-
fully fertile soil and the magnificent
forests, the plentiful game and the rap-
idly growing settlements, others were
fired with zeal and followed, so that for

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

many years the ox-trains of settlers
continued to come. As the tide of set-
tlement had started with the Ohio river
it moved slowly but steadily north and
west, and thus it was that the southern
half of the state was settled first. At
the time Indiana was admitted as a
state, in 1S16, there were 63,897 white
inhabitants and not one of them lived
in Fountain county; in fact, this county
had not been laid out and was still vir-
gin wilderness awaiting the coming of
the settler.

I have determined beyond question
that the first white man to take up his
permanent residence in Fountain, War-
ren and Tippecanoe counties was Peter
Weaver, whose descendants still live
in the vicinity where he settled. His
great-great-grandaughter, Miss Flora
Weaver of West Point, furnished me
with much of the following which she
had used as a graduation thesis:

Peter Weaver came from Germany
to Culpepper county, Virginia, before
the war of the Eevolution. He mar-
ried in Virginia and most of his chil-
dren were born there.

The Weavers were well-to-do, of aris-
tocratic lineage, and brought consid-
erable wealth from the .'Fatherland.
Peter had wealth enough for himself
and family to live in comparative lux-
ury and to associate with the first fam-
ilies in that section of old Virginia,
He married Martha Walker in Culpep-
per county. Martha Walker's mother
was a sister of Patrick Henry, the or-
ator of Eevolutionary fame. Her fath-
er was a full-blooded Miami Indian,
had a good education and held posi-
tions of trust in the Colony of Virginia,
by appointment from the Crown. The
union of the houses of Walker and

Weaver was considered promising for
both the contracting families.

Peter Weaver was 6 feet, 4 inches
tall and stood head and shoulders
above the young men with whom he
associated. He weighed 240 pounds,
but was not fleshy, had blue eyes and
was of a light complexion. His wif,
Martha Walker Weaver, was of a dark
complexion with dark eyes and showed
her Indian descent.

In 1806 they sold their property in
Virginia and moved to Wayne county,
Indiana, in 1807, settling 3 miles south
of Eichmond. He was one of the
wealthiest men in his community and
had a good and well improved farm.

While in Virginia he had formed the
acquaintance of William Henry Har-
rison and perhaps Harrison had some-
thing to do with his coming to Indiana.

In September, 1809, when Gov. Har-
rison left Vincennes for the Council
House at Ft. Wayne to meet the Indians
he traveled eastward to the western
border of Dearborn county and from
there he went to the home of Peter
Weaver in Wayne county, arriving in
the afternoon and staying all night. On
this trip Gov. Harrison, afterwards
president, gave to Patrick Weaver, the
son of Peter Weaver, the first money
he had ever owned, which was a silver
50c piece. Harrison arrived at Ft.
Wayne September 15, 1809. After the
battle of Tippejcanoe, in November,
1811, Gov. Harrison again stayed over
night with Peter Weaver in Wayne
county and gave him an account of the
march up the Wabash and the battle.
Being naturally of an adventurous dis-
position, Peter Weaver became much
interested in the Wabash Valley and
the Tippecanoe battlefield.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

He was a good shot and liked to hunt
and when Gen. Samuel Hopkins began
to raise an army of 1250 soldiers to
march up the Wabash river to The
Prophets Town, (Tippecanoe), Peter
Weaver joined the expedition and was
first lieutenant in Capt. Washburn's
company of spies and sharpshooters.
He went immediately to Vincennes and
from there he marched with the Hop-
kin's army, in November, 1812, to The
Prophet 's Town. He was so delighted
with the Wea plains that he decided if
ever an opportunity presented itself,
he would make his home on this beauti-
ful prairie.

After he returned home he went on
the bond of a friend who had been
elected sheriff of Wayne county. This
friend was a defaulter for a large sum.
Peter Weaver was the only bondsman
with property and it fell to him to
make good the sheriff's defalcation.
It took his farm and all his personal
property. He had always been used
to comparative wealth and luxury, and
now to find himselfapproaching old age
in poverty was to him a great embarras-
ment. He decided not to wait any
longer, but to go at once to the Wabash
Valley and the Wea plains which had
appealed to him so strongly when he
had crossed it in the war of 1812, so he
and his son Patrick H., left the rest
of the family to raise the crop on the
farm he had sacrificed for his friend,
the defaulting sheriff, and set forth on
their quest for a new home in the Wa-
bash Valley. They arrived at Vincen-
nes in the spring of 1822 and built a
skiff with two pairs of oars. This boat
was large enough to carry their clothing
and food, so they started up the Wa-
bash.

Some of the Indians who were re-

lated to Peter Weaver's wife lived on
what is known now as Flint Bar in
Fountain county, They reached the
Flint Bar with their boat the last of
June or the first of July. Patrick H.
was the first out of the boat, and with
one of his oars killed a blacksnake 6
feet in length. They spent a month
in hunting, fishing and visiting with
their Indian relatives, and then began
to select a place for a home altho the
land was not yet open for entry. He
built his log cabin across the road north
of where Mr. Lewis Clement now lives;
he commenced the building in August,
1822, and finished it that winter, but
during the time that they were con-
structing their cabin they lived on the
Flint Bar in Fountain county with
their Indian relatives, and stayed there
from July, 1822, until April, 1823.

Some time in the early spring Peter
Weaver floated down the river to Vin-
cennes and went from there to Eich-
mond and got his family, leaving Pat-
rick H. to look after the claim and the
cabin, while he himself would bring his
family out to their new home. In 1827
the land he had taken up was granted
by the United States government to
the Burnetts, the French-Indian fam-
ily of which I have already written.
He bought two sections of the reserve
allotted to the Burnetts, one of them
being the section on which the cabin
was located. The other was the section
in which the Patrick H. Weaver farm
was located.

In 1823, when he came to make his
permanent home on his claim, a French
trader stopped at his home and had
with him some oats which he fed to his
horse. In consideration of a few bush-
els of corn, he traded Peter Weaver a
portion of this cereal. The oats thus

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

procured were sown and in due time
reaped, but in the following season all
were surprised to see several different
varieties of wheat spring forth from
the stubble previously occupied by the
oats. It was regarded as very myster-
ious, so Peter Weaver raised the first
wheat as well as the first oats in the
county.

In after years he had a grain eleva-
tor constructed on the east bank of the
AVabash river at the Flint Bar. This
elevator was put up in 1825, and was
perhaps the first building for handling
grain in Fountain, Warren or Tippeca-
noe counties. Afterwards Peter Weav-
er turned the elevator over to Wm.
Sherry, his son-in-law. At one time
there were four families living near
this elevator and the place was known
as Fulton. It was almost opposite the
island of the same name and was prob-
ably the oldest village in either Foun-
tain, Warren or Tippecanoe counties.

Peter Weaver brought with him from
Virginia two negro slaves named Ben
and Ean. Mr. Weaver believed in
slavery and considered the negroes his
personal property. Soon after they
came to Tippecanoe county there was
an effort to steal the negroes. Mr.
Weaver grew very angry and protected
his property rights in the negro boys,
with his musket if necessary. One of
them died in Tippecanoe county and
was buried in the Weaver graveyard.
The other was taken to Missouri about
the time the Civil War commenced.

Peter Weaver was very pronounced
in his political views. He cast his first
vote in Indiana for Jackson in 1828,
and for years was identified with the
Democratic party. During the Civil
War he was so much in sympathy with
the South that his son, Patrick H.

Weaver, considered it unsafe for him
to stay in Tippecanoe county any long-
er, and had him go to the home of his
son, Mose Weaver, in Missouri and stay
the entire winter.

At that time he was almost 90 years
of age, yet he walked from his home in
Missouri to the home of his son in Tip-
pecanoe county and from there he walk-
ed to Culpepper county, Virginia, where
he remained over winter with his twin
brother. From Culpepper county, Vir-
ginia, he walked back to Tippecanoe
county. These long walks, in spite of
the fact that he enjoyed them, so weak-
ened him that he never entirely recov-
ered from the effects, and died at the
home of Patrick H. Weaver, in 1863, at
the age of 96. He was buried in the
Weaver graveyard in Wayne township,
near the home of Mr. Lewis Clement.

Peter Weaver was not only the first
settler in Fountain and Tippecanoe
counties, but was perhaps more widely
and favorably known among the early
inhabitants than any man of the upper
Wabash. He served several years as
county commissioner and was at the
front in all movements to bring about
a betterment of conditions. He killed
more deer, more rattlesnakes, more
wolves and more bears and caught more
fish and found more bee trees, and en-
tertained in a hospitable manner more
land-hunters, trappers and traders than
any private citizen between Vincennes
and the mouth of the Salmonie river.

Patrick H. Weaver, the eldest son
of Peter Weaver, was born in Culpepper
county, Virginia, in 1803, and came
with his father to the Wabash Valley in
1822. He was a stout, muscular man, 6
feet, 4 inches, in his boots, and weighed
over 200 pounds. January 26, 1829, he
married Elsie Dimmitt, whose parents

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

came from Tennessee and settled in
Wayne county, Indiana, in the early
part of the last century. During his
early life he took an active part in pol-
itics and like his father, was a great
hunter. While hunting he traveled
over a large part of Illinois, Michigan,
Wisconsin and Minnesota, going as far
north as Minneapolis and St. Paul. For
many years he received as much money
from his trapping and the chase as he
did from the farm. He raised a com-
pany of 100 men to take part in the
Black Hawk war, and was made cap-
tain of the company. Gen. Walker was
in command. Col. Davis and Captain
Brown of the artillery, and Captain
Weaver with his volunteers, mounted
their war steeds and proceeded to join
the army. A public meeting was held
at the court house in Lafayette and 300
volunteeers, mostly mounted men who
had furnished their own horses, left
Lafayette and started for the Grand
Prairie. Capt. Weaver with his troops
marched to Sugar creek, Benton county,
and stayed a few days, but finding no
Indians they returned by order of Gen.
Walker. Some of the men, however,
proceeded farther on. Capt. Weaver
took his horse and marched on to Chi-
cago where he joined Gen. Scott and
his troops. Some of these troops died
of cholera, but Patrick H. was not af-
fected. He took part in the battle of
Blue Mound, where Black Hawk was
defeated, and also in the battle on the
banks of the Mississippi, nearly op-
posite Upland, Iowa, where Black Hawk
was again defeated.

Capt. Weaver conducted a militia
muster and drilled the young men on
the south side of the Wea prairie. His
uniform was a blue wool shirt with a

red sash, and he wore epaulets. His
large sword was fastened by his side,
and on his hat a tall plume was waving
in the wind. His company consisted
of about 70 men who had reluctantly
turned out to muster to avoid paying a
fine. Some had corn stalks, some sticks,
and a few had guns. The captain hav-
ing had some experience in the Black
Hawk war, understood his business bet-
ter than his men supposed. He gave
his commands in a clear, ringing voice
and showed his men the maneuvers of
war. He located on a tract of 162 acres
in Burnett 's Eeserve, and eventually
owned 500 acres. He died October 16,
1890, after completing his 87th year,
his wife having died Jan. 28, 1884.

Virgil and Samuel Weaver, well
known farmers of Wayne township, Tip-
pecanoe county, are great-grandsons of
Peter Weaver, as are also Mark Whick-
er, of Attica, J. C. and Chester Whick-
er, of Lafayette, Wm. Whicker, of
Iowa, and Mrs. Ella Andrews, of West
Point, Ind. There are numerous other
descendants of this worthy pioneer
still living.

Altho I have here given credit to
Peter Weaver as the first white set-
tler to locate permanently in Warren,
Fountain or Tippecanoe counties, it
should not be forgotten that Zachar-
iah Cicot's father was a white man
of pure French blood, and that he lived
for many years and died where Inde-
pendence, Warren county, is now loca-
ted. Abraham Burnett, another French-
man, also settled in Wabash township,
Fountain county, and lived there for
many years, having been killed, accord-
ing to tradition, in one of the fights in
this vicinity at the time of Gen. Chas.
Scott's raid and the destruction of the

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Indian town of Ouiatenon in 1791, long
before Peter Weaver came. These men
however, cast their lot with the In-

dians, intermarried with them and held
their land as Indians, so that their place
in history is really with the Red Man.

The Government Land Survey

In the first Congress of the United
States, a committee of three was ap-
pointed to devise a method of laying off
the public lands for settlement. Thom-
as Jefferson was the chairman of this
committee and for this reason it is
known as the Jefferson system of land
surveying.

In all the new states and territories
the land owned by the general govern-
ment is surveyed and sold under this
general system. In the state of Indi-
ana, several offices, each under the dir-
ection of a surveyor general, were estab-
lished by acts of Congress and districts
assigned them. The general office for
the surveys of all public lands in Ohio,
Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin was
located at Cincinnati. In the surveys
meridian lines were first established
running north from some prominent
place. These are intersected at right
angles with lines running east and west
called base lines. There are five prin-
cipal meridians in the land surveys of
the West. The first and second of
which are connected with the land sur-
veys of Indiana. The first principal
meridian is a line due north on the east-
ern boundary of the state from the
mouth of the Great Miami river. The
second principal meridian line is a line
due north from a point on the Ohio
river nine degrees and twenty-nine sec-
onds west from Washington. From
these principal meridians with their
corresponding base lines the country is

divided into townships of six miles
square, which are subdivided into sec-
tions of one mile square or 640 acres
each; and these are again subdivided
into quarter sections of 160 acres each.
These divisions are designated by the
surveyor by appropriate marks which
can easily be distinguished from each
other. If near timber, trees are mark-
ed and numbered with the section, town-
ship and range, near each section corner.
If in a prairie, a mound is raised to des-
ignate the corner; and a billet of char-
red wood buried if no rock is near.
Ranges are townships counted as east
or west from principal meridians. Town-
ships are counted either north or south
from their respective base lines, as
township 22 north, range 7 west. Sec-
tions or square miles are numbered be-
ginning in the northeast corner of the
township with No. 1, progressively west
to the range line, numbered 6, and then
below 7 progressively east to the range
line is 12 and so on alternately, termin-
ating at the southeast corner of the
township with 36.

In the state of Indiana there were
seven land districts with offices attached
to each open for sale and entry of pub-
lie lands as follows: The Cincinnati dis-
trict embraced all lands east of the old
Indian boundaries, viz.: beginning
where the old Indian line strikes the
Ohio river in range 13 east, thence
with it N. N. E. to where it intersects
the other Indian line in section 23

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

T-ll R-13 east, thence S.W. with anoth-
er line in section 33, T-10, E-11, E.,
thence with the line N. N. NE. to its
bend in section 11, T-21, E-13, E., and
thence N. E. towards Fort Eeeovery to
where it intersects the Ohio state line
is section 36, T-23, R-15, E.

The Jeffersonville district, commen-
cing on the Ohio river is bounded on
the west by the second principal merid-
ian as far north as the line between
townships 9 and 10 north, thence east
with the line between townships 9 and
10 until it makes the Indian boundary
line on the south side of section 33,
T-10, R-11, E., thence being the Cincin-
nati line with the Indian line north-
westerly to the junction of the Indian
line, thence to a line in range 13 on the
Ohio river, thence with the river to
the beginning.

Then came the Vincennes district,
which embraced all the lands west and
south of the following -^ line, beginning
on the Ohio where the second meridian
first leaves the same thence north
with the meridian line until it is inter-
sected in section 1, T-9, E-1, W., by the
old Indian line, thence with the old In-
dian boundary northwesterly until it
intersects the Illinois state line and
township 16 north.

The Indianapolis district, then the
Ft. Wayne district and then the La
Porte district, and then the lands in
the Crawfordsville district. In the
body of the old deeds for land in this
locality used to be written, "in that
body of land offered for entry at the
land olfiee in Crawfordsville," and we
are more directly interested in this than
any other. It was included in the lines
beginning on the Illinois state line
where the Indiana line strikes it in
township 16, thence southeast with the

Vincennes line on the Indian boundary
to intersect with the meridian lines in
section 1, township 9, range 1 west,
thence north with the meridian line
to the corner of townships 9 and 10.
Thence east with the line between town-
ships 9 and 10 to the southeast corner
of township 10, range 1 east, thence
north with the line between ranges 1
and 2 east of the northeast angle of
township 26, range 1 east, thence west
between townships 26 and 27 to the Ill-
inois state line and thence with the
Illinois line to the beginning.

To get the entry of the lands within
this line one had to refer to the books
then in Crawfordsville. The entry of
the land in this district made Crawfords-
ville the center not only of population
but of everything pertaining to the
early settlement of the country. The
counties of Parke and Vermilion were
surveyed and open to entry much earli-
er than Fountain and Warren counties.
For some cause the first lands open for
entry in Fountain and Warren counties
were in ranges 6 and 7. The first set-
tlers came up the river and old Mays-
ville was on the range line numbered
6, so was Newtown and Wallace, and
Hillsboro was very close to it. Wal-
lace, Hillsboro, Newtown and Mays-
ville v/ere built on this line because of
its being open to settlement first. And
strange as it may seem, the land taken
up six miles west from the Fountain
county line or three miles west and
three miles east of range 6 west, clear
across Fountain and Warren counties
and for quite a little distance up into
Benton county was entered by people
of Quaker descent who were all related
by blood or marriage. Many of their
descendants still live along the line of
the land their grandparents and great-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

grandparents took up from the gov-
ernment.

As the tide of emigrants flowed into
Fountain county they came in two ways.
Many came up the Wabash as did Peter
Weaver and his son, but there were
many others that came by wagons
across the state, some of them having
come the entire distance from their old
homes in the eastern states in this man-
ner following the old trail thru Straw-
town and Thorntown, thence to Craw-
fordsville and on to this vicinity. The
record of land entries for all this sec-
tion was made at Crawfordsville and
the records are still preserved there.
The entries indicate that the land was
opened up by ranges or strips six miles
wide and extending at least the length
of two connties. The land comprising
what is now Fountain and Warren coun-
ties was taken uj) rapidly. It began in
1823 and within ten years all the best
land was taken, altho occasional entries
were made as late as 1840. Peter Weav-
er, it will be recalled, bought his land
from the Burnetts, who had received
it as an Indian grant. It was only by
this means that he got in ahead of the
survey.

The land survey in Fountain and War-
ren counties was a very poor one and
has resulted in much trouble and in-
convenience to land owners and survev-

ors. The government surveyor who
surveyed most of this section thot the
land would never be taken up and there
is a story that has been handed down
for nearly a hundred years to the effect
that he and his crew were drunk most
of the time while making the survey.
Possibly they kept their hides full of
whiskey as a protection against the
Wabash ague so prevalent in those days,
but whether this was true or not the
fact remains that their work was very
carelessly and inaccurately done.

It was in this first land rush that
Maysville sprung into being and reach-
its greatest importance. Cicott's trad-
ing post at Independence was naturally
the headquarters for the first settlers
who came to the vicinity but the pres-
ence of so many lazy pilfering Indians,
who when drunk made life about the
place miserable, resulted in the erec-
tion of Maysville about a mile up the
river and on the opposite side. With-
in a short time there were stores, a
hotel, and a bank — the first to be open-
ed in Fountain county. I shall tell of
this in more detail later in a separate
article. Maysville was located joat
east of where Eiverside now is and all
that remains to mark the site is a few
stunted cedar and apple trees and
some of the niggerheads which were
used as foundation stones under the
houses.

The Creation of Fountain County

On the 30th day of December, 1825,
the Act of the Legislature of the State
of Indiana, creating Fountain county
was approved. It is in the following
language:

"An Act for the formation of a new
county out of the counties of Montgom-
ery and Wabash.

Sec. I. Be it enacted by the General
Assembly of Indiana that from and af-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

ter the first day of April, next, all that
tract of country included within the
following boundaries shall form and
constitute a new county, to be known
and designated by the name of the
County of Fountain, to-wit: Begin-
ning where the line dividing townships
17 and 18 crosses the channel of the
Wabash river; thence east to the line
running thru the center of range 6,
west of the second principal meridian;
thence north to where said line strikes
the main channel of the Wabash river;
thence running down with the mean-
deringa of said river to the place of be-
ginning.

Sec. II. The said new county of
Fountain shal]^ from and after the
said first day of April, next, enjoy all
the rights, privileges and jurisdictions
which to separate and independent
counties do, or may, properly belong or
appertain.

Sec. III. That Lucius H. Scott, of
Parke county, William Clarke, of Vigo
county, Daniel C. Hults, of Hendricks
county, Daniel Sigler, of Putnam coun-
ty, and John Porter, of Vermilion coun-
ty, be, and they are hereby, appointed
commissioners agreeable to the Act en-
titled "An Act for Fixing the Seats of
Justice in all New Counties Hereafter
to be Laid Off." The said commission-
ers shall meet at the house of William
White, in the said county of Fountain,
on the first Monday in May, next, and
shall immediately proceed to discharge
the duties assigned them by law. It
is hereby made the duty of the sheriff
of Parke county to notify said com-
missioners, either in person or in writ-
ing, of their appointment, on or before
the third Monday in April, next; and
for such service he shall receive such
compensation out of the County of

Fountain as the Board of Justices there-
of may deem just and reasonable, to be
allowed and paid as other county claims
are paid.

Sec. IV. The Board of Justices of
said new county shall within twelve
months fix the location of the perman-
ent seat of justice therein and proceed
to erect the necessary public buildings.

Sec. V. That all suits, pleas, plaints,
prosecutions, and proceedings, hereto-
fore commenced and pending within the
limits of said County of Fountain shall
be prosecuted to final issue in the same
manner, and the state and county taxes,
which may be due on the first day of
April, next, within the bounds of the
said County of Fountain, shall be col-
lected and paid in the same manner,
and by the same ofiicers, as if this Act
had not been passed.

Sec. VI. At the time and place of
electing the county officers for the
County of Fountain, under the writ of
election from the executive department,
the electors of said county shall elect
five justices of the peace, in and for
said county, who shall meet as a board
at the house of Robert Hatfield, in said
county, on the first Monday in May,
next, or as soon thereafter as they may
be enabled to do after being commiss-
ioned, and then and there proceed to
transact all the business and discharge
the duties heretofore devolving on
county commissioners at the organiza-
tion of a new county, as well as all the
duties required of boards of justices of
such sessions. The circuit and other
courts of said County of Fountain shall
meet and be holden at the house of said
Robert Hetfield until more suitable
accommodations can be had at some
other place in the said county.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Sec. VII. All that part of the coun-
ty of Wabash lying north and west of
said County of Fountain shall be, and
is hereby, attached to the said county
for the purpose of civil and criminal
jurisdiction. This Act is to take effect
and be in force from and after its pub-
lication in the Indiana Journal."

These boundaries have never been
changed. They have remained the
same as they were fixed by that far-
away legislature on the 30th day of
December, 1825. Tippecanoe county
was created that same year but it was
not until 1829 that Warren was brought
into existence.

It has been said that Fountain coun-
ty was so named because of the many
springs that bubbled forth from the
lips of Mother Earth — fountains of
pure water — along the hills and ter-
races of the Wabash river and the
smaller streams of the county. And
another legend is that it was named
for a Major Fountaine, who at that
time lived in the State of Kentucky
and afterwards moved to Terre Haute.

It is not my purpose in these articles
to write a history of Fountain county.
I am only aiming to write sketches of
this part of the Wabash Valley, and in
these sketches I will necessarily include
incidents in which the adjoining coun-
ties to Fountain have as much interest
as Fountain county itself. And for
those sketches I am much indebted to
Patrick Henry Weaver, of Tippecanoe
county, Thomas Atkinson, of Benton
county, John Pugh, of Warren county,
Jesse Marvin, of Fountain county, and
"Recollections of the Early Settlement

of the Wabash Valley" by Sanford C.
Cox, and to Newlin H. Yount, who did
more to preserve the local history of
this locality than anyone who has ever
lived in it. Judge Thomas F. David-
son, in his history of Fountain county,
says: "The limits to which the writer
is confined, as well as the press of other
affairs, are such as to make it possible
only to give a brief outline of the set-
tlement and growth of Fountain county.
It has for some years been the design
of the author of these sketches to gath-
er up the threads of personal history
of the pioneer men and women of this
county and weave them into a memorial
that would do justice to their sterling
worth and perpetuate the story of their
toils, their perils and their virtues.
This design cannot be carried out now,
if ever it can be done. The hardships
endured by the men and women who
made the first openings in the forest
and the courage and fortitude display-
ed in meeting them deserve to be per-
manently recorded." Judge Davidson
wrote the best history that has ever
been written of Fountain county and
he was able to gather up the threads
of personal history of the pioneer men
and women of the county, more ably
than any man who has ever lived in the
county. We may thank him for the
splendid work he did. But what a
splendid gift to posterity had this
scholarly jurist have taken the time to
write a complete history of Fountain
county! It is unfortunate that he
failed to do this, and, as he himself
says, "it will be still more unfortunate
if it is not done before the few who are
left to tell the story should pass away. ' '

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Taking Up the Homesteads

While it is pretty well settled that
Peter Weaver and his son, Patrick Hen-
ry, were the first white men to come
into this locality for the purpose of
making their permanent home and that
Peter Weaver raised the first crop of
oats and the first crop of wheat that
was raised in this vicinity, within a
short time after his arrival other set-
tlers began coming in to take up land
and build cabins and make their per-
manent homes. Those settlers came
very close together and located in pret-
ty nearly every township in the county.
Among them was William Forbes and
James Graham, who settled in Wabash
township. A little later came James
Carlyle and Louis Phebus. Some of
the descendants of these families are
still living in that part of the county.
Andrew Lopp settled on Lopp's Prairie
and Jesse Osborn settled at Osborn's
Prairie. Lucas Nebeker and George
Steeley settled in Troy township near
Covington, and the Duncans, Hemp-
hills, Eoberts, Chisums and Browns
came into Davis township in the early
twenties. After Peter Weaver, George
Worthington was perhaps the first set-
tler in Davis township. In Logan town-
ship the Milfords, Hintons, Stephen-
sons, Campbells, Turmans and Peacocks
settled in the early twenties. I am of
the opinion that Casey Emmons was
the first white man to make a perman-
ent home in Logan township. In Van
Buren township the Cochrans, Colverts,
and Burchs were among the first settlers
in the county, while in Wabash town-
ship was William White. He was a
captain in the war of 1812, and the

first meeting for the organization of
the county was held at his house. He
was born in Tennessee and was a miller
by trade. He built the Union Mills.
This mill was sort of a combination.
It had an up-and-down saw which saw-
ed the lumber for many miles around
and also a set of millstones that ground
the grain for the early residents of
that locality. It was built on Coal
creek, was known as the Union Mills
and afterwards owned by one Bishop,
afterwards by Vandorn and still later
by Samuel Cade. Abong the first set-
tlers in Cain township were McBrooms,
Mendenhalls, Petros and Campbells. It
is not my purpose to write the history
of any af these townships at this time
and there were many old settlers whose
descendants are still living in these
townships whose names I have not men-
tioned. I have not left them out by
any design but of necessity. I am
writing these articles in my own way,
and I have not made the selections with
the care perhaps that I should. And
if Fountain county should make an ef-
fort to preserve its early history some
one can be selected in each of these
townships who can write a history of
the township, giving credit where cred-
it belongs as to who was the actual first
settler of the township and where he
settled. Outside of Peter Weaver I
have not tried to determine the exact
time of the settlement of any one in-
dividual. I hope that the rivalry of
the school children in each township
as to which township is entitled to
first place will lead them this year to
make investigations for themselves

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

and find who was the first settler in
each township and when the settlement
was made. By this means we might be
able to secure a good history of the
settlement of every township in the
county. Believing it to be the duty
of each township to preserve its own
history for posterity, I shall leave this
work to others.

When the first settlers came into
Fountain county there were no high-
ways and until 1830 all the roads of
Ithe county that were traveled to any
great extent run to some good ford
on the river. Most of these roads
ran east and west because the
Wabash river was the only means of
transportation for their products and
their furs. The first steamboat made
its appearance on the Mississippi, as I
have stated in a previous article, in
1811, just in time to get caught in the
earthquake that did so much damage in
Arkansas and Tennessee. -'

Soon after 1812 other steamboats
were built for navigation on the Mis-
sissippi and Ohio and the Wabash river
as far as Terre Haute. From 1824 to
about 1826 there were some products
of this locality taken down the river
on flatboats to New Orleans. About
1828 a few small steamboats came be-
yond Terre Haute and if the river was
high went as far north as Maysville
or Lafayette. The early settlers of
this locality continued to ship their
produce on flatboats until the construc-
tion of the Wabash and Erie Canal.
From 1828 until about 1845 almost
every spring the water was high enough
in the Wabash river that small steam-
boats would come as far north as La-
fayette and carry the produce of this
locality south to New Orleans. But
the early settlers did not always wait

for the steamboat, several of them
would quite often join together, build
a flat-boat and take their produce down
the river, so wherever there was a good
ford and a good landing place for a
flat-boat roads would lead from both
sides of the river to the ford. The re-
mains of many of these roads are plain
in this locality yet. They have been
deserted long ago but the loads hauled
over the soft ground cut so deep that
the marks of these highways still re-
main.

After the Wabash & Erie Canal was
built the main roads of our county be-
gan to be marked out north and south,
but from the early settlement of the
county until 1845 there were very few
north and south roads in Fountain
county. In fact, there were no roads
in the county anywhere that we would
consider of any value today. They
simply followed the highest and driest
ground to a ford or boat landing on the
Wabash river. And the steamboats
which plied upon the Wabash did not
only carry away the products of the
locality and bring in some of the ne-
cessities of life but there was on board
almost every boat that came up the
river some pioneer with his wife and
family in search of a home in the
Wabash valley. Not only did the Wa-
bash river furnish a means of trans-
portation but it was full of fish and in
the winter the wild game came to its
sheltering hills and for this reason
many of the first settlers in our county
located in the hills along the Wabash
river.

Sandford C. Cox, who was the first
schoolmaster to come to this part of
Indiana, left to posterity some of the
most intimate sketches of the incidents
of those early days. At the time Foun-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

tain county was opened for settlement
he was teaching school in Crawfords-
ville and with an appreciation of the
fact that history was then in the mak-
ing he observed with great interest the
things going on about him. These im-
pressions he wrote in his diary and
years later — in 1859 — expanded them
into a series of articles such as these
I am writing, which were published
serially in the Lafayette Courier. They
aroused so much interest that he was
persuaded to issue them in book form
the next year, and one of these books is
a prized volume in my library. Mr.
Cox came to Crawfordsville while it was
a small village, in 1824, and in the book
he reproduces from his diary the fol-
lowing description of the land sales
at Crawfordsville, soon after his ar-
rival there. Hundreds of acres of
Fountain county land were bought in
this sale and for that reason this ac-
count is of special interest:

Dec. 24, 1824.

Crawfordsville is the only town be-
tween Terre Haute and Ft. "Wayne. The
land office is here. Major Whitlock is
receiver and Judge Dunn register.
Major Ristine keeps a tavern in a
two-story log house and Jonathan Pow-
ers has a little grocery. There are two
stores — Smith's, near the land office,
and Isaac C. Elston's near the tavern.

The land sales commenced here to-
day, and the town is full of strangers.
The eastern and southern portions of
the state are strongly represented, as
well as Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and
Pennsylvania.

There is but little bidding against
each other. The settlers, or "squat-
ters" as they are called by speculators
have arranged matters among them-
selves to their igeneral satisfaction.

.1
If, upon comparing numbers, it appears

that two are after the same tract of

land, one asks the other what he vnll

take not to bid against him. If neither

will consent to be bought off, they then

retire and cast lots, and the lucky one

enters the tract at Congress price —

$1.25 per acre — and the other enters

the second choice on his list.

If a speculator makes a bid, or shows
a disposition to take a settler's claim
from him, he soon sees a score of white
eyes snapping at him, and at the first
opportunity he crawfishes out of the
crowd.

The settlers tell foreign capitalists
to hold on till they enter the tracts of
land they have settled upon, and that
they may then pitch in — that there will
be land enough — more than enough, for
them all.

The land is sold in tiers of townships,
beginning at the southern part of the
district and continuing north until all
has been offered at public sale. Then
private entries can be made at $1.25
per acre, of any that has been thus
publicly offered. This rule, adopted by
the officers, insures great regularity in
the sale; but it will keep many here for
several days, who desire to purchase
land in the northern part of the dist-
rict.

A few days of public sale have suf-
ficed to relieve hundreds of their cash,
but they secured their land, which will
serve as a basis for their future wealth
and prosperity, if they and their fam-
ilies use proper industry and economy,
sure as ' ' time 's gentle progress makes
a calf an ox."

Peter Weaver, Isaac Shelby and Jehu
Stanley stopped with us two or three
nights during the sale. We were glad
to see and entertain these old White

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Water neighbors, altho we live in
a cabin twelve by sixteen, and there
are seven of us in the family, yet we
made room for them by covering the
floor with beds — no uncommon occur-
rence in backwoods life. They all suc-
ceeded in getting the land they wanted
without opposition. Weaver purchased
at the lower end of the Wea prairie,
Shelby west of the river opposite, Stan-
ley on the north side of the Wabash,
my father on the north side of the
Wea prairie.

It is a stirring, crowding time here,
truly and men are busy hunting up
cousins and old acquaintances whom
they have not seen for many long
years. If men have ever been to the
same mill, or voted at the same elec-
tion precinct, tho at different times,
it is sufficient for them to scrape an ac-
quaintance upon. But after all, there
is a genuine backwoods, log-cabin hos-
pitality, which is free from the affected
cant and polished deception of con-
ventional life.

Society here at present seems almost
entirely free from the taint of aris-

tocracy— the only premonitory symp-
toms of that disease, most prevalent
generally in old settled communities,
were manifested last week, when John
I, Foster bought a new pair of silver-
plated spurs, and T. N. Catterlin was
seen walking up the street with a pair
of curiously embroidered gloves on
his hands.

After the public sales, the accessions
to the population of Crawfordsville and
the surrounding country were constant
and rapid.

Fresh arrivals of movers were the
chief topic of conversation. New log
cabins widened the limits of the town,
and spread over the circumjacent
country.

We read of a land of "corn and
wine, ' ' and another * ' flowing with milk
and honey;" but I rather think, in a
temporal point of view taking into
account the richness of soil, timber,
stone, wild game and other advantages,
that the Sugar creek country would
come up to, if not surpass, any of them.

The Rise and Decline of Maysville

Among those who bought land at the
first land sale at Crawfordsville in this
immediate locality was my maternal
great-grandfather, George Worthington.
He was a son of Thomas Worthington,
who was the first United States sen-
ator and the third governor of the
state of Ohio. He and his father had
disagreed and it was impossible for
them to make up their differences; his
father paid him in cash the portion of

his estate that he considered coming
to him and with that George left the
state of Ohio and his father's family.
Learning of the land offered for sale
at Crawfordsville he with Eobert Mil-
ford, the Hemphills and a party of five
or six others, came to the Wabash val-
ley. He purchased four thousand acres
of land in what is now Warren county;
a portion of it is the old VanReed land,
and a part of it the Hiram Bright land.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

He bought two sections of land right
near where the town of Linden stands,
another section near Hillsboro, and
eighty acres for his home place. The
latter is now owned by John T. Nixon
and known as the old James Beasley
place. Worthington had been in the
hotel business in Ohio and southeastern
Indiana and thot he saw the possibility
of a hotel someplace in this locality.
The party of landseekers that he was
with stopt for a while with Zachariah
Cicott but there were so many Indiana
around Cicott 's place that it made it
very unpleasant for the settlers. Wor-
thington talked the matter over with
Cicott and his companions and it was
decided to build his hotel across the
river from Cicott 's trading post, and
this hotel was the first building erected
in Maysville.

Soon hundreds of settlers, with their
families, came across the country, over
the Indian trail to Strawtown and from
Strawtown to Thorntown, from Thorn-
town to Crawfordsville and from Craw-
fordsville to Maysville, while others
came up the river, the majority of
them stopping at Worthington 's hotel
in Maysville. Worthington did not
take up the land upon which he built
his hotel. He ran the hotel from 1825
until about 1830.

In the Spring of 1829 Judge Samuel
B. Clark, (Orrie S. Clark's grandfather)
operated a ferryboat between Mays-
ville and Cicott 's Landing. One of the
Youngs had a very sick child, and Dr.
Simon Yandes practiced medicine part
of the time in Maysville and part of
the time across the river, but was then
at Cicott 's Landing. Mr. Young and
Clark went to Cicott 's place after Dr.
Yandes; the river was very high and
all three started across in a skiff to-

gether. They got about the middle of
the stream when the skiff upset and
Mr. Clark was the only man who could
swim. He placed Dr. Yandes and Mr.
Young on the boat and told them to
stay there and drift with it in the
center of the stream and he would
swim to the shore and get a boat and
come after them; he left them, swam to
shore, got the boat and other help and
rowed back, but when he found the
boat Young and Yandes had fallen off.
A few days afterward their bodies
were found alon^j the edge of the water,
and they were buried in the same grave
in the southeast corner of Lars Ander-
son's farm, where a cemetery was
then located. There were about two
hundred persons buried there. A fam-
ily by the name of Schlosser owned
this land, and it was known as the
Schlosser graveyard, and there were at
one time many tombstones marking the
graves. But there is not a tombstone
left now and this graveyard is a part
of a field.

When George Worthington left Mays-
ville he built the house that now stands
on the Beasley place, and this too was
built for a tavern. After he died Dr.
Worthington, his son, came into poss-
ession of this hotel and ran it for a
while, selling the hotel at Maysville
to a man by the name of Mortimore,
who was the grandfather of Mrs. Albert
McDermond, of this city.

The settlers who came to Maysville
saw the possibility of a city there,
and the first exclusive grocery store,
the first dry goods store, the first bank,
the first hotel, and the first saloons op-
erated in Fountain county were in Mays-
ville. There were soon eight hundred
people living there, and the water power
of Possum Hollow, then known as

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Young's Eun and Hemphill's Eun, was
utilized for a saw mill, a grist-mill and
a distillery, all operated by the Hemp-
hills. The Hemphill distillery was op-
erated by James Hemphill and contin-
ued in operation until after the Civil
war. Many loads of fiour were taken
from the Hemphill grist-mills to Chi-
cago, and to White Pigeon, Michigan.
The Duncans and Youngs packed pork
at Maysville, and the town became
the most flourishing center of commerce
west of Crawfordsville. Many flatboats
were built there, loaded with flour,
whisky and pork and sent down the
river to New Orleans, while many far-
mers would take their ox-teams, and
after getting their corn and wheat
ground or their hogs butchered, hauled
the products overland to White Pigeon,
Michigan, and Chicago, Hlinois, and it
looked very much like Maysville would
be the center of commerce in this local-
ity. It was the largest town on this
side of the river north of Terre Haute
for many years, almost to the time that
the Wabash & Erie canal was built, but
it was evident that Maysville, Williams-
port, Independence, Attica and Port-
land could not all flourish, and when the
millrace was constructed into Attica, to
bring the water from the Stone Cut to
the woolen mill which stood where F. K.
Lemper's house now stands, Attica be-
came the industrial center of this lo-
cality.

Jesse Marvin settled near Maysville
coming into Davis township, January 1,
1829. He stopt with Mr. Sparr and
Archibald Eoberts, Mr. Eoberts having
come into the township in 1828. Mr.
Marvin was a cooper by trade and soon
after he came into Davis township mar-
ried a Miss Clark, who lived at the
south end of the township, and bought

from the government the one hundred
and sixty acres of land known as the
Marvin Stock Farm upon which C.
Alfred Carlson now lives. There he be-
gan working at his trade, making bar-
rels— flour barrels for the grist-mills,
pork barrels for the packing houses and
whiskey barrels for the distillery, and
his was a flourishing business. In ad-
dition to his cooper shop he would oc-
casionally take over flour, whisky and
pork in payment for his barrels. He
built the first flatboat that was ever
built at Maysville and took the first
load of products from Maysville to New
Orleans; after that he took a flatboat
load of products to New Orleans al-
most every year for many years. I
have often talked to Mr. Marvin of
the early days in Maysville and the
locality. His wife was a very good
housekeeper, saving and careful, and
she handled the finances of the family.
Jesse Marvin soon became a wealthy
man for that time. He bought land in
Illinois and owned several hundred
acres in Davis township; he was very
pronounced in his religious views, be-
ing at that time an infidel, relying en-
tirely upon reason for his religious be-
liefs and discarding the superstitions
and prejudices of the early churches of
that locality. Jesse Marvin was one
of the best citizens this county has
ever possessed and one time was com-
missioner and at another time repre-
sented Fountain county in the legisla-
ture. When he went to the legislature
his election was a surprise to him and
everyone else. He employed some of
the best attorneys in this section,
(among them Judge McCabe of Wil-
liamsport), before he went to Indian-
apolis, to help him prepare a bill to
make the railroads responsible for the

SKETCHES OP THE WABASH VALLEY

stock they killed, to make them fence
their tracks and put in cattleguards
across the public highways and to
make the engines sound the whistle
when they approached the crossings to
protect the travelers on the highways.
He traded with everyone that he con-
scientiously could, voting for their bills
with the understanding that they were
to vote for his when it was presented,
and at the very last of the legislature
he tacked his bill onto some insignifi-
cant bill, gave those whose bills he had
supported to understand that now was
their time to pay their debt to him, and
without knowing what his bill was, it
passed the legislature almost unani-
mously and was immediately signed by
the governor. A few weeks later it
dawned on the railroad companies what
had happened, and they called Marvin
the "Whistling Eepresentative, " and
that the "Whistling Legislature."
Whenever Wabash engines reacht the
line of Davis township they began to
whistle and whistled clear across the
township which ever way they were
going, hoping that they could annoy
Marvin. Arrangements were made to de-
feat Marvin if he ran for the legisla-
ture the second time, but Marvin, hav-
ing gotten his pet bill thru, dropt out
of politics, and I feel perfectly safe in
saying that he made the best record for
himself of any man who ever represent-
ed Fountain county in the legislature.
He would attend church, listen to the
sermons of the reverend gentlemen and
challenge them to a debate. When
they would have him fined for disturb-
ing their meetings, he would pay his
fine and be on hands to disturb the
next meeting. When an old woman
donated $25.00 to the Baptist church
at Salem and found she could not pay

it he learned of the debt, went to her
and gave her the $25.00 and $10.00
extra with the understanding that she
was not to let the preachers know
where she got the money. He proposed
building the Koberts chapel without any
expense whatever to the congregation,
provided they would put a scaffold in
one corner of the church and hang the
converts as quick as they "got relig-
ion." He wanted them hanged while
"saved" so as to take no chance on \
their backsliding.

Teddy Layton and Mike Hullihan
lived at Maysville and were young men
when my Uncle James Whicker was the
agent of the Wabash railroad at Eiver-
side; I used often to see them at his
store. These three men were all neat
dressers and each tried to out-do the
other in the value of their clothes and
neatness of their dress. Teddy Layton
is now living at Cheneyville, Dlinois,
and is a very wealthy man.

Mike Hullihan bought cattle, was a
good trader and never worked. He had
three brothers who worked for the Wa-
bash railroad. John was a section hand,
Jim and Tom watched bridges. All
their earnings went into a common fund
and was handled by Mike. From the
profits of his trades and the earnings of
his brothers Mike would buy pieces of
land around Maysville, and by this
means purchased between two and three
hundred acres upon which he pastured
the stock that he bought. He was very
witty, careful in his trading and honest
in his dealings. Tho still a young man
when he died he had saved a very neat
little estate for his family, and if he
had lived would perhaps have become
one of the wealthiest m.en in Davis
township.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

"Scar Face" Murphy owned eighty-
acres of land near Flint, but spent most
of his time with his Irish friends at
Maysville. He had a black horse that
could run. The horse-racing took place
on Sunday afternoons. A negro, Bill
Scott, and an Irish boy, Tim Haniford,
would occasionally get a horse and put
up a race with "Scar Face" Murphy,
but Murphy always won. There would
often be a scrap and once in a while
an Irish fight. They may have left
the horse-racing full but they always
left in good humor. I used to go to
Sunday school with Uncle Steven Con-
nell at the Olive Branch church, and
with one or two of the other boys
slip out of the church, across the canal,
and go up the tow-path to Maysville to
attend the horse races. A horse race on
a Sunday afternoon suited me much bet-
ter as a boy than a Sunday school.
There would be a large crowd gathered
to watch the race, money would be bet
as to the horse that would win the race,

and usually Murphy came out with a
portion of the stakes. The racing would
be on a strip of road wide enough for
the horses to run side by side, turn
quickly and come back; sometimes there
would be two tracks, side by side, for
a half mile used for the racing. In
the fall of the year this racing went on
every Sunday afternoon. We finally
learned that in Newton county there
was a horse that could be purchased
cheaply with a record as a running an-
imal. Several of us boys chipt in,
bought the horse, challenged "Scar
Face" Murphy for a race, got a good
rider who was light in weight and knew
how to handle the horse. The stakes
were the horses and a gallon of whiskey.
Our new horse won the race and "Scar
Face" Murphy gave us the running
horse and a gallon of whiskey, and
went to the county poor house where
he lived for many years afterwards.
This was the last horse race in Mays-
ville.

The Beginning of Attica

In December 1824, when the land sale
was made at Crawfordsville, George
Hollingsworth and David and J. Stump
attended the sale and purchased the
river front for a half a mile where
Attica is now located. The Stumps
and Hollingsworth had come down the
river in a canoe and stopped at the
Sycamore ford, just above where the
Wabash railroad bridge now is, and
noticed what a splendid landing there
was for boats. Here the banks were
high at the river front and the hill
sloped gradually back. At that time
there was but one person living in this

locality and that was Casey Emmons.
His cabin was just in front of Mrs.
Amanda Eeed's house, east of the city.
Hollingsworth and the Stumps followed
the road back from the ford to Casey
Emmons' home and saw that the prairie
came almost to the river here, and when
they saw this ford, the splendid boat
landing below it and Shawnee Prairie
coming almost to the river with easy
access to the prairie, they considered it
a good location for a town, so they
bought the land next to the river for
that purpose.

Attica was laid out in 1825, the first

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALUiIY

plat being filed by David Stump. Soon
afterward an addition was platted by
Hollingsworth. The original plat and
this addition extended from the corner
of Brady and Washington streets west
on Washington street to the river front,
thence north to Ferry street, thence
east to the alley running west of the
Hotel Attica. The first store was built
and kept by Wm. Crumpton, first in a
log house near the river, and afterwards
in a one story frame house near the
corner of Mill and Perry streets. Mr.
Crumpton was postmaster and the mail
was carried on horse-back from Indian-
apolis to Covington and from Covington
to Attica, Attica having but one mail
a week. The first tavern was kept by
Harmon Webb in a log house, facing
the river, at the western terminus of
Main street. The house had additions
built to it and remained standing until
after the Civil war. At the close of
1825 Attica had four general stores,
three saloons and one hotel. In 1826 a
combined still-house and grist-mill was
erected in "the ravine," now Eavine
Park, just above where the high bridge
is located. The burrs were large nig-
ger-head stones. A cabinet shop and a
tan-yard were added in 1826, and in
1827 Orin Arms manufactured fanning
mills at his place, east of town, which
he had bought of Casey Emmons. Jos-
eph Peacock operated a blacksmith
shop.

Soon after Attica was laid out Lafay-
ette,Covington,Portland(nowrountain)j,
Maysville, Independence, Williamsport
and Eob Eoy were platted, and there
was quite a rivalry as to which would
become the trading point of this sec-
tion. As told in the sketch preced-
ing this, Maysville and Cicott's Land-
ing grew up as squatter towns before
the land was surveyed.

In 1830 another hotel, known as the
Indiana House, was built on Main
street. This was larger and more com-
modious than the log cabin and for five
years was the only hotel, all the stage
lines making it their headquarters. In
1835 Delavan Bratt put up a two-story
frame hotel where the Hotel Attica now i
stands and called it the Attica House.
It was run by William Farmer first and
afterward by Avey Tuttle. It finally
came into the possession of a man
named Thornburg and was destroyed by
fire in 1846. The Indiana House stood
until 1915, when it was razed to make
way for an addition to the Thornton
Garage.

Attica moved along slowly until about *j
1844, when John and Dan Yount, two
brothers, (cousins of the late Newlin i
H. Yount), built a water race for mill
power. They were men of large means
and understood the woolen business
fully. Their mill race caught all the
water from the creek that runs thru
Stone Cut and brought it to Attica.
With the industries that were already
here this mill race and the woolen mill
which they erected and operated de-
termined the race between Maysville,
Independence, Williamsport and Eob
Eoy in favor of Attica. In the boom
that followed several of the pork-pack-
ing and other industries of these rival
towns moved to Attica. Ed Hemphill,
the father of Thomas Hemphill, who
was in the dry goods business here for
many years, built the stone house, now
Moran 's blacksmith shop, for a dry
goods store about this time. The mill
race ran right in front of this house.
Tom Hemphill told me that it was so
near that as a boy he sat in the door-
way and caught sunfish in the mill
race. These Younts sold their woolen

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

mills here and later went to Montgom-
er county where they founded the town
of Yountsville and erected the famous
Yountsville Woolen Mills, which have
been in operation ever since. ^

P In 1846 the Wabash & Erie Canal was
constructed to Attica and stopt here
for almost two years on account of the
water wasting thru the gravel beds
below town. The steamboats could
come up the Wabash when the river
was high and with the splendid landing
here, this being at the time the end of
navigation on the canal, Attica became
a boom town, forging ahead so fast that
she threw dust in the faces of Mays-
ville, Eob Roy, Independence and Wil-
liamsport. Iii a few years most of the
industries of these places had moved to
Attica. Their hotels lost their guests;
their store rooms were stript of their
merchandise; their manufactories of
machinery; and their streets grew green
with grass and weeds. Williamsport,
with green-eyed envy, constructed at
large expense the "side cut" across the
river bottoms just below Attica, to con-
nect them with the canal and open a
watery highway to the outside world.
When this "side cut" was finished
there was great rejoicing over that en-
terprise in Williamsport. A big stall-
fed ox was roasted whole and the resi-
dents of the country for miles around
were invited to partake of the feast
and listen to the congratulatory speech-
es on that occasion. The "side cut"
gave Williamsport shipping facilities,
but the superior advantages of Attica,
being on the main line of the old canal,
still continued to draw the trade.
Then too, the water wasted so at the
river and in the gravel deposits below
the "Wide-water," where the "side
cut" entered the canal, that the "side

cut" could not carry boats. The cit-
izens of Williamsport brought suit in
the Fountain circuit court against the
canal company to force it to furnish
water enough for floating boats in the
"side cut." For answer the canal
company showed that the supply of
water for the canal itself was not suf-
ficient and that they could not maintain
the water for the "side cut." The
canal company won the suit, the "side
cut ' ' got out of repair, the locks rot-
ted down and were not rebuilt and it
looked as tho the star of destiny was
dropping below the horizon for Wil-
liamsport.

When the canal was completed to At-
tica, in 1847, ware-houses, docks, and
landings were built along it, and the
hum of traflic was heard. All the news
came by packet boat and when a boat
pulled up to the landing, it was greeted
by a large percent of the inhabitants.
The landing was at the foot of Main
street, where there was a stone stair-
way leading to the wharf. Inasmuch
as the boats could not get beyond At-
tica, competition soon began to arise
with the people of Covington who got
the idea into their heads that Attica
wanted to keep the water from reaching
that place. They could not understand
the leakage of water in the gravel beds
below Attica. Perhaps Williamsport en-
couraged them some and they took coun-
sel from Maysville, Independence and
Eob Eoy. Anyway, after nursing their
wrath for some time, they concluded
that in the love of God and the kind-
ness of their hearts they would visit At-
tica, take matters into their own hands,
destroy the locks which were located
here, and let the water flow down the
big ditch to the town that had been
blest with the county seat.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Like Austria, they demanded an in-
vestigation of the records and secret
archives of the Athenians. To this
investigation the noble Greeks of the
north objected. Some diplomatic re-
lations were carried on between the two
contending towns. Covington sent her
last note. The answer was not satis-
factory and Covington delared war on
Attica. Then, as now, Covington was
Democratic. She stood not upon the
order of going to war, neither did she
parley as Mr. Wilson with Mexico, but
called at once for volunteers. Three
hundred mighty men of valor answered
the call. They started up the tow-path
under the leadership of Edward Han-
nigan — the eloquent "Ned" Hannigan
who was afterward United States sen-
ator and later minister to the court of
Prussia. Word reached Attica that her
territory was being invaded by this hos-
tile army from the south. Jehu Wams-
ley lived on the bluff across the river
and from his elevated position and
splendid view of the canal was the first
person to see the invading forces. He
hastily grabbed a couple of shot-guns
and one or two pistols, jumped on his
horse, rode as fast as his horse could
run right into and across the river,
yelling like an Indian to alarm the
town. A crowd soon gathered about
Jehu Wamsley — Attica soon learned the
value of Preparedness and hastily
gathered an army of defense. Ezekiel
McDonald took command and the Ath-
enians started out to do battle for their
homes and their water-way. The Cov-
ington army besides being armed to the
teeth with rifles, shot-guns and pistols,
had an old cannon. The Atticans
were well armed but had no artillery.
The battle started at once. Ezekiel Mc-
Donald was knocked into the canal, and

tradition says ' ' General ' ' Hannigan
also measured its depths. Henry Schlos-
ser, John Leslie and others were slightly
injured. A few of the persons from
Covington had black eyes. The cannon
was spiked early in the game; the boat-
men, hearing the racket, came down the
canal, well armed and swearing like
pirates, to take a hand in the scramble.
But the superior numbers of the invad-
ing army prevented them from shutting
the gates of the lock and they were com-
pelled to resort to strategy. Several of
them slipped away and commenced haul
ing straw and pitching it into the canal
above the locks. This soon had the
effect of choking up the gates of the
locks and the water ceased to flow.
The canal war was carried on in threats
for some time afterward but no open
hostilities occurred. For a few years
afterward there would be an occasional
scrap between participants in the battle
and even tho that scrap took place in
1847, the feeling still crops out in polit-
ical contests, regardless of party affili-
ation. The two cities have ever since
gotten along without physical collision,
altho many red-hot controversies might
be related.

But the growth of Attica was not per-
manent. The boom lasted only six or
seven years and then things came to a
standstill. Ten years later, in 1857, the
Wabash railroad was built from Ft.
Wayne to State Line. Its promoters
proposed going to Covington and cross-
ing the river. They wanted a bonus of
$5,000 to aid in the construction of a
bridge across the Wabash at that place.
Covington proposed to charge them $5,
000 for the right-of-way thru the town
but a small appropriation was raised
at Attica and they crossed the river
here. The Wabash railroad soon began

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

to affect the traffic on the canal, altho
there was an occasional boat plied lo-
cally along the canal until about 1875.
I can remember very well when the
Wabash railroad had no gravel ballast
and the ties were very wide apart. The

rails were light and the road had little
striped engines and it was very hard for
them to pull a load of any size up-grade.
These engines burned wood. My father
owned a canal boat and I was born and
raised right near the canal.

The Wabash and Erie Canal

As early as 1822 Indiana and Illinois
jointly began to adopt measures, which
were intended to make provisions for
the improvement of the grand rapids of
the Eiver Wabash; and by 1823 the
subject of connecting the Maumee river
and the Wabash river, by canal naviga-
tion, had attracted the attention of the
legislative authorities of these two
states.

In a message addressed to the General
Assembly of Indiana, in December 1822,
Governor Hendricks said: "We ought
to have free and unshackled as far as
we can our resources for improvement
purposes, which the interests of the
state may hereafter require, if not at
our hand at the hands of those who suc-
ceed us. Let us not lose sight of those
great objects to which the means of the
state should at some future day be de-
voted. The navigation of the falls of
the Ohio river, the improvement of the
Wabash and White rivers, and other
streams, and the construction of the
national and other roads thruout the
state. ' '

Governor Eay in a message, deliver-
ed before the legislature in 1836, said:
' ' On the construction of the roads and

canals, then we must rely as the safest
and most certain state policy to relieve
our situation, place us among the first
states in the Union and change the cry
of hard times into an open acknowledge-
ment of contentedness. We must strike
at the internal improvements of the
state or form our minds to remain poor
and unacquainted with each other" —
A fine compliment to our railroads, in-
terurbans, public highways and auto-
mobiles!

Governor Noble in his inaugural ad-
dress before the General Assembly, in
1831, said: "It is obvious then that
while the general government is pre-
paring the great national thorofares
and creating consumption by fostering
manufactories, it is our interest and
duty faithfully and economically to ap-
]>ly the means placed at our control by
the national government to their legi-
timate objects and to exert ourselves
to call into request the latent resources
and energies of the state, to improve
our rivers and by making lateral roads
and canals, to facilitate the conveyance
of the various commodities of our
state." And the construction of that
part of the Wabash and Erie canal

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

which lies within the borders of India-
na was commenced in 1832.

In 1836 the financial affairs of the
country seemed to be in sound condi-
tion, and the minds of the people of
Indiana were fully prepared to regard
with favor the commencement of an
extensive system of state and internal
improvements. The adjustment of the
details of the system was, however, a
matter of great difficulty and the leg-
islature was, in some instances, forced
to make special provisions for the con-
struction of needless and costly works,
in order to prevent the defeat of the
general system. Ten millions of dollars
was appropriated to carry on the sys-
tem. In fixing the mode of organiz-
ing a state board of internal improve-
ment and defining the duties and pow-
ers of this board, the General Assem-
bly of 1836 committed several material
errors. On account of the errors and
for other reasons the internal improve-
ment law of 1836 encountered strong
opposition among the people of those
counties thru which the lines of the
proposed public work did not pass.
These public improvements continued,
however,, until the summer of 1839
when a period of financial embarrass-
ment thruout the United States caused
the contractors on public works in the
state of Indiana generally to suspend
operations and soon afterwards to aban-
don their contracts. And the State
bonds could not be sold.

In December 1839 Governor Wallace
in his annual message to the legislature
said: "The failure to procure funds,
as we had a right to expect from exten-
sive sale of state bonds effected in the
early part of the season, has lead to
great and unusual embarrassments, not
only among the contractors and labor-

ers but also among the people. What
shall be done with the public works?
Shall they be abandoned altogether? I
hope not. In my opinion, the policy
of the state in the present emergency
should be first to provide against the
dilapidation of those portions of the
public woi'ks left in an unfinished
state; and, secondly, as means can be
procured, to finish some entirely and
complete others at least to points where
they may be rendered available or use-
ful to the country."

In order to provide means for the
payment of the contractors and other
public creditors, the legislature author-
ized an issue of state treasury notes
to the amount of one million five hun-
dred thousand dollars. These note^
formed a circulating medium, which,
for a brief period, passed at its nominal
value. But early in the summer of 1842
when there was about one million of
dollars of this currency in circulation
among the people, it suddenly depre-
ciated in value from forty to fifty
cents.

At the close of 1;?41 the total length
of the railroads, turnpike roads and
canals embraced in the internal systera
of 1836 amounted to 1,289 miles, of
which 281 miles had been completed.
One million seven hundred and twenty-
seven thousand dollars had been spent
for the construction of the Wabash and
Erie canal.

In January 1847, during the admin-
stration of Gov. Whitcomb, provisions
were made for the adjustment of the
debt due to the holders of Indiana state
bonds and for the completion of the
Wabash and Erie canal to Evansville.

Work was immediately begun and
contracts were let, surveys were made
along the entire length of the canal.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

The work was pushed rapidly from Ft.
Wayne to Lafayette and from Lafay-
ette to Attica. The building of the
canal was let out in sections and a sec-
tion of from five to ten miles would be
taken by contract. The contractors
employed thousands of men to excavate
the channel for the great waterway.
Most of the men, who were employed
in this work, came from the green
Isle of Erin.

The canal was finished to Attica in
1848. In the spring of that year Asia-
tic cholera appeared among the laborers
and they died like flies in a trap. These
laborers lived in camps along the water-
way. There was a large camp at old
Fulton, where Flint now is. Among
those Irishmen there was a sturdy
young blacksmith, named Hugh Martin,
who sharpened the plows and shod the
horses for the contractors. A Mrs.
Donnelly had the contract for cook-
ing for all the camps from the county
line to Attica and among her most
trusted aides was a handsome young
Irish lassie, Ann Crouch. The camp
below Fulton was Maysville and Ann
Crouch did the cooking for her country-
men in the camp at Maysville. Their
tools were taken up the river to Hugh
Martin 's forge to be sharpened, their
horses were taken there to be shod and
Miss Crouch went with them to get
counsel from her mistress, Mrs. Don-
nelly. And Cupid was there, with
his bow and quiver; and when Hugh
Martin, from the county of Cork, and
Ann Crouch, from the county of Killar-
ney, met, Cupid sharpened the point of
his arrow at Martin 's forge. This Irish
laddie and lassie loved and wooed and
married, and lived their lives in Davis
township. Mi-s. Martin lived there
from 1847 until she died, June 16, 1911,

and was one of the most interesting
women that I have ever known. Her
daughter, Mrs. Nels Lowry, still lives
there. Mrs. Martin told me there were
not nearly so many persons died from
the cholera at Maysville and Fulton as
there were further down the canal.
As I have stated in a former article,
many of those Irish made their per-
manent homes at Maysville.

There was another camp very near
where the Fix schoolhouse now stands.
There were about six hundred men,
women, and children in this camp,
about four hundred of whom died of
cholera. About two hundred of them
were buried in the old graveyard at At-
tica, and then a long trench was dug
in a marl bed near the camp and the
rest were thrown into this trench as
they died and covered with a soft lime
or marl.

By the fall of 1848, in spite of the
cholera and other misfortunes that be-
fell them, the contractors finished the
canal and boats began to ply upon it,
— packet boats, carrying passengers,
gaudily decorated, and pulled by horses
with some speed, also tug boats and
heavy boats for mercantile purposes,
pulled by mules and heavy horses.
Soon this waterway was lined with hun-
dreds of boats carrying all kinds of
merchandise, freight and passengers.
Warehouses, mills, packing houses and
many other houses of commerce were
built along its banks. Some of these
old structures are still standing and in
use yet today, the Jones elevator and
the Stafford elevator being notable ex-
amples. The old Martin elevator, torn
down three of four years ago, was
another, and the foundation outlines
of another can be traced in the sod
across the street from the office of the

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Fountain Produce Co. It was, indeed,
a waterway of much importance and
served a splendid purpose. When it
would freeze over in the winter it
would be as smooth as glass and hun-
dreds of young people would gather
along this waterway to skate. In the
winter time skating parties were very
common. There was an elopement that
attracted considerable attention at
Maysville — a young couple gliding
away one night on their skates from a
skating party, down the canal to Terre
Haute, where they were married be-
fore the irate father of the bride could
overtake them.

I recall a little incident that will il-
lustrate the attitude of the people to-
ward these imported laborers, and as it
happened just below Attica it will be
of local interest. The greatest diflO.-
culty which the builders of the canal
encountered in this vicinity was getting
thru the great gravel beds south of
town, where the Carmichael and other
pits are now located. The difficulty
was to get the canal to hold water as
it wasted thru the gravel very rapidly.
In order to overcome this a feeder
dam was built at Shawnee creek and
the entire volume of water from that
stream turned into the canal. The re-
mains of this earthwork can yet be
seen there. The contract for building
that portion of the canal from the
gravel beds to Portland, (now Foun-
tain), and for building the feeder dam
on Shawnee was taken by Col. Me-
Manomy of Covington; and Douglas
Trott, father of John Trott now of
Williamsport, worked for him. While
completing the approaches of the feed-
er dam and the waterway from the
dam into the canal, one Monday morn-
ing they found their Irish laborers

coming late to work. Mr. Trott re-
proved them and a dispute arose. Still
arrogant from the effects of their Sun-
day carousal, a big Irishman took a
position on a gangway scaffold across
which they had been wheeling dirt and
disputed Mr. Trott 's right to pass.
Without arguing the case Mr. Trott
struck the fellow with his fist and
knocked him off. When he landed at
the bottom he failed to arise and when
Mr. McManomy and Mr. Trott went
to help him imagine their surprise to
find that his neck was broken and that
he was dead.

Word was sent to the camp, where
the dead man's wife was one of the
cooks. She came down and at once
set up a great lamentation. But the
burden of her grief was not in the loss
of her husband but in the fact that he
had nothing but an old dirty shirt in
which to be buried! Mr. McManomy
had on a new shirt — just put on that
morning — and without hesitation he
pulled it off, gave it to the weeping
widow and vdth the aid of some of the
Irishmen it soon graced the dead man's
form. A grave was dug and he and
the boss' new white shirt were buried
near the canal. His wife went on
cooking for the workmen and doubtless
eventually acquired another husband.

This story came to me from the lips
of a gentleman to whom it was related
by Mr. McManomy himself, so there
is no doubt of its authenticity. The
death of the Irishman was never in-
vestigated by the coroner nor the grand
jury.

The Wabash & Erie canal was found
a much more convenient and rapid
means of conveyance of the products
of the farm and the output of the fac-
tories within its reach than were the

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

river and the wagon roads which had
preceded it.

In 1850, after it had been in opera-
tion two years, there was a census
taken of the town of Attica, now in the
possession of Charles Haller, on the
first page of which is the following
statement:

"CENSUS OF THE TOWN OF AT-
TICA— An enumeration of all the males
over 20 years of age in the Town of
Attica. Also, the number of married

males and females, the number of un-
married males and females over the age
of 18, and the number, in-so-much of
each school district as lies within the
limits of the town, of children of both
sexes, between the ages of 5 and 21
years. Taken by W. McK. Scott under
authority of the Town Council, March
20, 1850."

This record finished with the follow-
ing statement in regard to the canal and
river:

Shipments by Canal and River up to March 20, 1850.

By Canal

E. Hemphill Wilson & Co.

P. S. Veeder

Coleman & Lundy

Wm. Worthington

McDonald Spears & Co

Corn
Bu,
77,664
80,000
63,724
20,000
20,000

Wheat
Bu.
5,000
7,100
5,431

9,000

Oats
Bu.

2,317
549

By River

Coleman & Lundy

McDonald Spears & Co.

Pork
Bbls.
946
1,383

Flour
Bbls.
202
13
507
1500
140
Lard
Bbls.
724
234

Pork
Bbls.

1,200

558

1,345

Grease

Kegs

Wool
Bbls.

30,000

6,000

Flour
Bbls.
70

Lard
Bbls.

410

227

4451/2

In addition to the above, Coleman & Lundy shipt 178,437 pounds of hams
and shoulders, 10 barrels of tallow and 95 pounds of cured beef.

"Hogs packed by McDonald, Spears Co 4,800

" " " J. & J. Hemphill & Co 1,800

" " " Kiff & Co 2,800

Total - 9,400

Whisky manufactured at Standart & Co. 's distillery 3,000 bbls. yearly

Whisky shipt from Standart & Co.'s distillery 2,500 bbls. yearly

This statement of Mr. Scott shows
conclusively that the canal met the ex-
pectations of its most sanguine support-
ers as a means of increasing production
and facilitating transportation. For
Am years it had no competition in the
way of transportation; it was ten years
before the Wabash Eailroad was built
and during these ten years the canal

prospered. The exact population at that
time, according to this census, was 1,006.
On the side of the canal next to the
river was the tow-path, and the other
side was known as the heel path. The
horses and mules which drew the boats
walked the tow-path. The packet
boats were usually two stories, had a
captain who looked after the fares and

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

general interests of the passengers of
the boat and the welfare of the boat,
and a pilot whose business it was to
stand on the top of the second story
and operate the steering gear, which
was on the back part of the boat. Many
a householder, with his family, who had
left the eastern country, came over the
lakes to Toledo or down the Ohio to
Evansville and took passage on tha
canal boat for some point in the Wabash
Valley where they would make their
home.

Lottie Wolfe and Gus Lief came
with their father from Sweden to New
York, and from New York to Toledo by
rail, and from Toledo to old Granville,
in Tippecanoe county, on the canal boat.
They had tomatoes on the canal boat as
an ornament, which the children called
love apples. The children of this Swed-
ish family became interested in those
tomatoes and were going to taste them
but were told by the officials of the
boat that they were poison. Many of
the first Swedish and German families
who came to Attica came in a canal
boat. After the railroad came the pas-
senger traffic first left the canal, and
many a packet boat stood tied up along
its bank going down into decay.

I remember one very well that was
attached for some reason and pulled
ashore near where Ignatz Pritscher
lived, about three miles above Attica,
and stood there until it finally rotted
away.

The freight boats lasted until about
1875 or 1876, and an occasional scow
was in use up to that time. I remem-
ber my uncle, George C. Worthington,
and John McKnight, who died recently,
at Veedersburg, built a scow on land
that was afterwards owned by my
father. I was very much interested in

the construction of this boat and when
they finished it they called in the
neighbors to turn it up-side-down to
calk the bottom; I watched the process
with great interest. They calked it
with hot tar and some kind of lint, dip-
ping the lint into the hot tar and
driving it into the cracks of the bottom.
I was present when this boat was
launched and watched them lay down
the plank and slide the boat into the
canal. Mr. McKnight had a daughter
by the name of Aetney, who now lives
somewhere in Minnesota, and this boat
was named the "Aetney" for Mr. Mc-
Knight's daughter. So far as I know,
this was the last boat built for use on
the old Wabash & Erie canal.

The merchant boats were much larger
than the scows and were built with a
cabin on the back and a place on the
back of the cabin for the pilot to
stand as he worked the steering gear.
My father purchased a boat of Douglas
Trott; it was called the "Hoosier Boy."
In the spring of 1883, the men of the
neighborhood east of Attica hitched a
team to this boat and went to Coving-
to to pay their taxes, and T went with
them. This was my first trip to the
county seat. I remember that my fath-
er talked with three men on this trip,
one of whom was Homer Sewell. John
Glascock was teaching in The Bend
school near the Nebeker place, and
Frank Glascock, a relative of his, was
with us. We stopt for a short time and
Mr. Glascock went to the schoolhouse
to visit with his relative. The other
man was Mr. Haupt. John Glascock is
still living and each of these men
looked exactly the same to me the last
time I saw them as they did the first
time.

Homer Sewell, after I came to man-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

hood, became one of my best friends,
and we often talked of our first meeting,
I was not yet ten years of age and
was frail in health, and my family and
the doctors had concluded that I could
not weather the storm. However, owing
to the truthfulness of the old adage
that the good die young, even then I
was assured of a ripe old age.

In the fall of that year I made two
trips to Lafayette with my father on
the "Hoosier Boy." On the first trip
we took cordwood and the entire neigh-
borhood had cordwood on that boat. It
was body hickory and brot $7.50 a cord
in Lafayette. A few weeks later I took
another trip and we took potatoes. The
weather was cold. We covered the
potatoes with straw and reached Lafay-
ette all right, about six o'clock in the
evening. That night it froze and the
next morning I helpt in gathering the
frozen potatoes off the top of the cargo.
The men worked very rapidly to get the
potatoes out of the boat before night.
About five o'clock they finished unload-
ing and we started back home at once
for fear that the canal would freeze
over. We got as far as Eiverside, aim-
ing to take the boat to near where
Ignatz Pritscher lived, but there was so
much ice in the canal that we left the
boat in the "widewater" at Riverside,
about where the Independence road now
crosses the canal. So far as I know
this was the last trip taken by a canal
boat to Lafayette, Soon after this the
canal went down and my father's boat
stood for many years in the "wide-
water" at Riverside. We finally tore
it to pieces and used it in making cribs
and bins about the barn.

It is recorded in a history of Foun-
tain county publisht in 1883 that the
last boat to clear from Covington for

Lafayette was tWe "Goodman," on
Nov. 13, 1875. The last boat that
cleared thru from Lodi to Toledo was
the Rocky JMountain, under command
of David Webb, which toucht at Attica
October 26, 1872.

Near Flint there was what was called
* ' The Aqueduct ' ' where Flint creek ran
under the canal and then there were
locks at Flint and at Attica; in going to
Covington we went thru the locks at
Attica, and in going to Lafayette we
went thru the locks at Flint. The At-
tica lock was located just back of
where the old handle factory building
now stands.

I remember very well of the boat
being pulled into these locks and the
gates shut back of them, and the water
being turned in from above, until the
boats were raised from the level of the
water below the lock to the level of the
water above the lock. In coming the
other way they would let the gates down
first, fill the locks with water, run the
boat in, raise the lower gates and let
the boats go down to the lower level.
The canal was level from one lock to
another and the fall of the canal was all
taken up in the locks.

I would stand at the back of the
boat and watch the fish swim from un-
der it, and then there was a green moss
that grew in the canal in long ropy
strings, and as a boy I enjoyed very
much watching those strings floating
behind the boat.

The town of Riverside was named for
the Riverside schoolhouse, now known
as the Fix schoolhouse. They used to
have subscription school there in the
summer, and when the boats would come
up or down the canal the teacher would
let us children go to the canal and watch
them pass. This was a great treat for

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

us and we kept a sharp look-out for
the boats.

The farmers along the water-way
would have rafts made of two logs fast-
ened together, and with a pole one could
get on these logs and push across the
canal. Every farm had a raft.

In summer the canal would be full of
frogs and turtles and always full of
mudcat and sunfish, with a few other
varieties. Of an evening one could
easily catch in a few hours a large string
of fish. I used to nearly keep the fam-
ily in fish in the spring and fall. The
canal ran close to the Eiverside school
and our principal sport in winter was
skating on its glassy surface. As quick
as school was dismissed for recess or
noon every pupil gathered his skates
and with the teacher made for the canal
to skate during the short period of rest.
In the summer we boys would hunt the
gravelly fords and bathe and swim.

While the canal had its uses and its
pleasures it had its faults too. The
mosquitoes were a great pest along this
waterway, and every fall one shook with
ague. We were not as well acquainted
with the mosquito and his habits then
as now, and did not attribute the ma-
laria to his bite, but with the passing
of the canal the malaria and ague
passed from the Wabash Valley.

The canal company kept a dredge
and a gang of men with it, who worked
continually dredging the canal to keep
it deep enough so that the boats could
travel on it. I became well acquaint-
ed with the family that operated the
dredge and spent many a pleasant day
with the other boys on the dredge,
watching it dip mud from the bottom of
the canal. The good lady whose hus-
band was the boss of the dredge cooked
for the hands and when we boys wanted

to spend the day watching the work she
was very kind to us. Often she would
have a soft shell turtle out of which
she would make soup and we were very
fond of this. With fish and turtle soup
she won the affection of every boy
along the canal.

As the Wabash railroad improved the
canal grew less and less of service un-
til at last the bond-holders closed their
mortgage and the canal was sold in the
United States Circuit Court. The Foun-
tain county right-of-way was purchased
by Nebeker & McManomy and they sold
it to the Wabash Eailroad company
from the towpath to the low water
mark of the canal. That portion of it
below the low water mark was sold to
the farmers along the way, who finally
cut the banks and let the water out
and it eventually reverted to farm land.
When they cut the "widewater" near
the Pritseher place, the farmers in
that locality took out tons of fish.

Had man known of the gasoline en-
gine the canal could have been main-
tained and made profitable for boats
propelled by gas engines, and the mos-
quito pest could have been overcome
with oil. I believe that this waterway
would have been of value enough to the
commonwealth in different ways to
have justified its maintenance.

The flint from the flint bar was haul-
ed to Lafayette for the improvement of
that city's streets on canal boats from
the opening of the canal until it went
out of use. They would often gather
boat loads of boulders and haul them to
Lafayette and Attica to make gutters
for the streets.

There was a very dense undergrowth
in a swamp near Flint; Henry Butts
was driving the horse on the tow-path
that pulled a boat for my uncle, James

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Whicker. One evening when they pass-
ed this swamp they heard a panther
screaming. Henry's hair stood on end
and he ordered a halt, but my uncle
told him to drive right on as no one was
in danger but Henry himself, as the an-

imal would either have to fly or swim
to get the rest of them. Henry obeyed
and as the panther probably was scared
as badly as he was he is still with us
today to verify this incident.

The Wabash Railroad

At the same time that the legislature
of the State of Indiana and the State of
Hlinois began legislating for the inter-
ests of canals and waterways they be
gan legislating for railroads. Among
the improvements of 1836 in Indiana
was the National Eoad — a wagon road,
running clear across the state which
makes the principal street of Eichmond,
Washington street in Indianapolis, goes
thru Greencastle and makes Main street
of Terre Haute.

There were several railroads under
construction which were, each and all,
a part of this general improvement, and
several canals, other than the Wabash
and Erie canal. The Wabash and Erie
canal was only a part of the general
improvement in Indiana intended to
facilitate transportation. Along its
entire length in the state the Wabash
and Erie canal was the principal means
of transportation and principal thoro-
fare for about ten years, and during
that time it was adequate to the needs.
But soon after its completion arrange-
ments began to be put in operation for
the building of a railroad and the rail-
road in which Attica and this locality
was most interested at this time was
the Wabash railroad which paralleled
the canal from the state line east of Ft.
Wayne to Attica. And I shall only deal

with that portion of it which extended
thru Indiana. The Wabash railroad as
we know it now was built and for a
number of years operated by three sep-
arate companies and was really three
roads instead of one. One corporation
operated between Toledo and Ft.
Wayne, another between Ft. Wayne
and State Line City, and the third
across Illinois. The road was built
under the name Toledo, Wabash and
Western.

There was some question as to wheth-
er the road would cross the Wabash
river at Attica or Covington. The
promoters preferred Covington, but
asked a donation of $5000 or more from
Covington if they crossed there. Cov-
ington refused to give them anything
and proposed making them pay at least
$2,000 for going thru the corporation.
They tried by argument to show the
town officials the value the railroad
would be to them but argued without
avail. The citizens of Covington gave
them emphatically to understand that
no railroad could enter their sacred
precincts from the north without first
making peace with them with a sub-
stantial donation. Finally the commit-
tee from the city of Covington passed
beyond the argumentative and reason-
ing period and grew angry and told the

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Wabash officials who had met to confer
with them that they could go straight to
hell.

J. D. McDonald met the railroad of-
ficials on their return to Attica; asked
them how much they would want to
cross the river here, and they told him
they would want $1,000. He told them
he would give them $1,000 to come thru
Attica and cross the river where they
pleased; that he had some little interest
in Williamsport yet and perhaps would
be personally benefitted if they passed
thru that town. But whether they
passed thru Williamsport or Covington
he would give $1,000 to the railroad.
The residents of both Williamsport and
Covington knew that J. D. McDonald
was the wildest man who had ever set-
tled in the Wabash Valley and he was
very severely criticized for his interest
in this railroad by the inhabitants of
both these places. On account of the
attitude at Williamsport the railroad
went north of the town. It crossed
the river, tcwever, at Attica, at the
most convenient place. J.D. McDonald
proposed giving $1,000 more to cross a
mile further down the river, and tried
to get Williamsport to donate toward
this proposition. But the people who
lived in Williamsport gave Mr. McDon-
ald to distinctly understand that they
did not care where the railroad crossed
the river, and that if it ran thru their
corporation, they would also expect it
to pay for such willful intrusion. As a
result of this perverseness the next gen-
eration was forced to move the town,
courthouse and all, to the railroad, thus
expending many thousands of dollars
which might have been saved had it
not been for the attitude taken when
the railroad was built.

The Wabash railroad was completed
in 1858, thru the State of Indiana.
When the first engine passed Attica a
great demonstration was held and thous-
ands of people came to take part in it.
That was not the Wabash railroad of to-
day. The engines were small, striped
engines; the body of the engine was
the color of engines of today, but bands
of brass ran around the boiler and these
brass bands looked like harness on the
engines. And this was the style of all
the locomotives. These engines burned
wood, beech being preferred. The en-
gineers claimed that beech made the
best fire for steam heat, and for this
reason they were very much interested
in getting beech wood to fire the en-
gines. The fact that these engines
burned wood gave a new source of dis-
tress to many persons who feared that
these engines would soon use up the
timber and that our country would be
cursed with drouth and wind. It was
several years before they began burning
coal in the engines.

The railroad rails were small and
fastened together diffently from the
way they fasten them now. The ties
were all made from large trees and only
the very best of large white oak and
burr oak were used, and only ties that
were split in two, and these ties were
placed very far apart sometimes two
and three feet. There was no ballast
on the road, and the engines ran very
slowly as they pulled their train of
cars up the grades. There was a steep
grade from the "Stone Cut" east and a
steep grade at Maysville, east of Eiver-
side. I have seen many trains of cars
stall on those grades, and they would
have to send for extra engines or cut
the train in two, taking half of it at
a time when they went east; but

SKETCHES OR THE WABASH VALLEY

they would run very fast down these
grades going west.

Alf Boots, a blind man, lived on my
father's place, near the railroad tracks
in a log cabin. He raised tobacco and
made cigars, raised broom corn and
made brooms on about two acres of land
that the railroad cut off from the rest
of the farm. I have known the trains
to stop, and the trainmen go to his
place and buy cigars and brooms from
Mr. Boots as they went east. In fact
they were his best customers and there
was enough of them that they took just
about all the cigars and brooms that he
could make. There was no stop at this
place but the front brakeman could get
off, run over to his cabin, get his supply
of cigars and brooms, pay for them and
make the caboose as the train passed if
the train was loaded. So the train crew
would chip in at Attica with their
funds, buy the stock Mr. Boots had on
hands and make the train easily.

The passenger trains ran much faster.
They run fast enough that they soon
put the Wabash & Erie Canal out of
commission and let the packets stand
idle and decay. But the freight traffic
on the canal continued for several years
in a desultory way. But as the grades
were cut down and the road ballasted
the Wabash fast became a much more
convenient and rapid means of trans-
portation than the canal. Many of the
Irishmen who had helped to construct
the canal were yet living when the
Wabash railroad came thru and the
Irish at old Maysville worked as in-
dustriously to construct the Wabash
Railroad, to dig its cuts and make its
fills as they had worked in the years
before on the construction of the Wa-
bash & Erie Canal. And many of their
descendants are still with us.

Uncle Neddie Harty helped construct
the Wabash railroad, to dig the cuts
and make the fills, and continued in the
employ of the Wabash Eailroad Co.
here in Attica from the time the first
shovel full of dirt was thrown in the
state for the construction of this road
until he was too old to work. He was
a very interesting man and a good cit-
izen. Among the pleasant memories of
my early life is my association with the
old section man from the Emerald Isle,
Ned Harty, of Lafayette, Steve Harty,
and the indomitable Mike who plays
the keys at the C. & E. I. depot, are his
sons. Mike Layton's children of Tip-
pecanoe county are his grand-children.
The story of the Wabash railroad could
not be written well with Ned Harty
out.

When they were putting the railroad
thru and after it was finished there
was a young Irish boy who began his
labors on this road; first he carried
water to the section hands. Then he
wielded the shovel with the grace of an
older hand, and one did not have to
look at his face for a map to tell what
country he had come from if they
watched him ply the pick and bar. He
may have grown tired for a while of
the Wabash railroad but he never grew
tired of work. He sold cigars for a
while, driving a wagon for Dick Bros,
and then in the early sixties, out in
Central Illinois, he raised a company of
soldiers and served our country well.
When the war was over, with the well-
earned title of general, he returned
back to Bloomington, 111., and read and
practiced law, and a few years later,
when the Wabash railroad needed an
attorney there, he was given the ap-
pointment and they found him as cap-
able in this capacity as they had found

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

him with the water bucket in Attica.
And when financial troubles came for
the railroad the Irish laddie who
had been a water boy on the section at
Attica was made the receiver of the
Wabash system. There was hardly any
one who lived in this vicinity twenty
years ago who did not know Gen. Mc-
Nulty, of Bloomington, 111., well enough
to call him John, and a few of the cit-
izens of Attica yet living have many
pleasant recollections of the industri-
ous, witty Irish boy who carried water
and worked on the section of the Wa-
bash railroad in ante bellum days.

The terminus of this division of the
Wabash railroad was at the state line
and as this ended the holdings of two
companies, plans were made to build a
city at State Line Not only was it
the division point of both the railroads
but their roundhouses were placed
there. It looked for a while like State
Line would become a city, but Danville
was the countyseat of a splendid county
and coal was discovered near that city
in paying quantities. In spite of all
that both companies could do Danville
showed a tendency to grow beyond the
most sanguine hopes of its friends. In
spite of the railroads and not with their
help Danville was able to gather to

itself the glory and fame that was in-
tended for State Line City.

In Davis township there was a switch
called Nebraska right near Grindstone
creek. This station was put in for the
purpose of an elevator and with the in-
tent of making a town, and all the
horses, hogs and cattle shipped from
the West were stopped at Nebraska and
watered and fed. But in spite of all
the railroad company's efforts to build
a town Nebraska refused to grow, and
when Jesse Marvin, who lived near Ne-
braska, got thru the legislature an act
to compel them to pay for the stock
that they killed, to fence their right of
way and to put in cattle guards, they
pulled up the switch and abandoned the
last vain hope of a town there.

It is useless to say that the coming
of the Wabash Wabash railroad marked
a new era in transportation for this
portion of the Valley; that it is now
and always has been of great value to
us. Poorly managed perhaps a good
deal of the time; its profits have been
taken to maintain in luxury some Euro-
pean prince and silly girl, born of
wealthy parnts. If the company can
succeed in ridding itself of these leech-
es, of these European barnacles, it can
easily become one of the best and most
useful railroads in the country.

In Fountain County in 1 826

For the benefit of some of my friends
in the central part of the county
who have been reading these articles
with interest, I shall include among
them a letter written from the forks

of Coal Creek in 1862 by Sanford C.
Cox, the first school master of this
vicinity, to whom I have already re-
ferred and from whose book (Re-
collections of the Wabash Valley,

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

I860) I have already quoted. The
letter was written to his cousin at
Richmond and the young school master
had the faculty of description so well
developed that he gives us a very
interesting account of the vicinity
around Veedersburg at that day.
Following is his letter:

Forks of Coal Creek, Fountain Co.,
April 13, 1826

Dear Cousin Bob: In my last letter
from Crawfordsville, I promised to
give you a description of this region
of country, shortly after our arrival
here. I shall now attempt to redeem
my promise, tho I confess that there
is but little to write about here, except
the country, which is in general in a
wild, unreclaimed state, just as it came
from the hands of God, and the Indi-
ans.

You recollect seeing, while on your
visit to our house in Montgomery
county last Spring, how the outside
walls of the settlers' cabins were cov-
ered with stretched coon skins, musk-
rat, and mink skins, and the eaves
of the houses were surmounted with
buck horns, and other trophies of the
chase. The same can be seen here on
a more extended scale, and as fast
as they become dry the skins are taken
down to make room for more.

We have in this neighborhood a
blacksmith named John Simpson, a
most excellent man, who is a perfect
Nimrod in the hunting line. He kills
more deer and turkeys in a week with
his old gun "Betty," than your fav-
orite hunter, Phin. Thomas, would in
a month with his yager. But it may
be because game is more plenty here
than in Montgomery county, where
Phin did his hunting.

It is a heavy timbered country here.

and some of the settlers have a few
acres apiece cleared, and under culti-
vation. I want father to move to
the Wea prairie, on the Wabash river,
where he owns prairie lands, which are
much the easiest improved, but he
thinks the country there entirely too
new to move to, for a year of two to
come. I don't see for my part how it
could be much harder to get along any
place than it is here; for after we are
thru with our day's work — clear-
ing, making rails, or grubbing — we
have to put in a good part of our
evenings pounding hominy, or turning
the hand mill. But it gives us a relish
for our hoeeake, and there is no
dyspepsia amongst us.

It is very thinly settled around the
Forks of Coal Creek, and, indeed,
throughout this new county of Foun-
tain. I believe I know every family
around us, and as it will take but
three or four lines of my letter, I
will give you their names and locali-
ties:

East of the Forks live Wm. Cochran,
Hiram Jones, Benjamin Kepner, and
the Browns. Further up the south
Fork of Coal, lives Hester, Esq.
Mendenhall, Wade, Peter Eastwood,
Ball and Gardner. Below the Forks,
in our neighborhood, live Abner Eush,
Samuel Rush, John Simpson, John
Fugate, Jacob Strayer, Bond, Wm.
Robe, Barney Ristine, Evans, and
Leonard Lloyd, a bachelor, who lives in
his cabin alone, "monarch of all he
surveys, and lord of the fowl and the
brute, ' ' on his own premises, at least.

On the south side of the creek there
are four families, namely: Dempsey
Glasscock, Joseph Glasscock, John
Blair and Patton. Down the creek is
another settlement, composed of

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Whites, Bryants, Forbes, Medsekers,
and a few more families. Up the
north Fork of Coal Creek, in the vicin-
ity of the Dotyite Mills, live Osborn,
Loppe, Helms, Jonathan Birch, and
Snow.

There is quite an excitement about
the location of the county seat. The
lower end of the county is in favor of
Covington; but folks around here pre-
fer a more central point. The Forks
here are near the geographical center,
of the county, but the arguments in
favor of a county seat on a navigable
river, may pi?event our getting the
county seat located at this place.

Lest you might think there was
danger of us becoming semi-barbarous
in this wild region, I will here state
that we have circuit preaching every
four weeks, by old Father Emmett, a
veteran minister of the Methodist de-
nomination, who has been a faithful
watchman on the walls of Zion for
more than forty years. He is beloved
by all who know him — old and young,
saint and sinner. His preaching is of
the plain, practical, but effective kind,
that reaches the hearts of hearers. He
has three preaching places within reach
of us, viz: at John Simpson's, Kepner's
school house above the Forks of Coal
creek, and in White's neighborhood
in the direction of Covington.

I have found two species of birds
here, different from any I ever saw on
White Water — the sand hill crane and
parroquet. This new species of crane
is quite different from the common blue
crane, being much larger, and of a
sandy, gray color. They go in large
flocks like wild geese, but fly much
higher, and their croaking notes can
be distinctly heard when they are so
high in the air that they cannot be

seen. Parroquets are beautiful birds,
and fly in flocks of from twenty to
fifty in a flight. In size they are
some larger than a common quail, and
resemble small parrots, from which
they derive their name. When full
grown their plumage is green, except
the neck, which is yellow, and the
head red. The heads of the young ones
continue yellow until they are a year
old. When flying, this bird utters a
shrill, but cheerful and pleasant note,
and the flash of their golden and green
plumage in the sunlight, has a most
bewitching effect upon the beholder;
who, for a moment, deems he is on the
verge of a brighter sphere, where the
birds wear richer plumage, and utter a
sweeter song.

As time hung heavy on his hands
Schoolmaster Cox kept a very interest-
ing diary and from it I shall reproduce
another incident that is of interest to
residents of all this vicinity, as it'
shows how the fear of the Indians
was hanging over the settlers at all
times. The following is verbatim from
his diary, written at the time:

July 14, 1827

A report reached here yesterday by
a messenger despatched from Osborn 's
prairie, that the Pottawatomie, Miami
and Kickapoo Indians were massacre-
ing the white population on Tippecanoe
river near the Pretty prairie, and on
Wild Cat and Wea creeks, and that
they were hourly expected at Shawnee
prairie, where the inhabitants were
gathering into forts, and making pre-
parations to repel their murderous
attack.

We were advised that prudence dic-
tatOid that our neighborhood should
also fortify forthwith.

A general panic seized the people

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

hereabouts, a minority of whom were
in favor of gathering into a fort as
quick as possible; but others, more
used to frontier life and Indian alarms^
and among them my father, thought
it best to first send out a few scouts
to reconnoitre and report the actual
state of things. Accordingly my fath-
er, eldest brother and Mr. E. ,

accompanied the messenger on his re-
turn to Osborn's neighborhood.

Without assembling together, the
neighborhood awaited their return.

Mother, thinking that Mrs. E. ,

(who was left at home with two little
children during her husband's ab-
sence,) would be alarmed for her and
her children's safety, sent her word to
come down and bring her two little
boys, and stay with us until her hus-
band returned. But Mrs. E. re-
turned in answer to mother's kind in-
vitation, that "she had made up her
mind to stay at home and defend her
house to the last extremity — that she
would fight in blood shoe-mouth deep,
before she^ would leave her cabin to
be burned by the red-skins."

I thought if Mrs. E. possessed

such true grit, that I certainly had
pluck enough to go into the watermelon
patch and get some melons. So I told
the family that I would slip out thru
the corn field and bring in a few mel-
ons for us to eat. Mother at first re-
monstrated against my going, but fin-
ally consented, on condition that I
be prudent, and keep among the grow-
ing corn, going and returning. Just as
I reached the patch and was stooping
to pull a melon, bang I went a rifle
about thirty yards distant in the corn.
I straightened up — clear miss, thought
I; a stupid, bewildered sensation crept
over me for a moment. But the

thought that the enemy would soon
be upon me with tomahawk and scalp-
ing-knife, dispelled the stupor that
momentarily bound me, and I instant-
ly sprang out into the growing corn
and made for home with all possible
speed, meeting mother about half way;
she had heard the rifle, and run to the
rescue without any weapon to screen
me except a mother's impulsive heart.

Mrs. E. also heard the gun,

and supposed that the work of death
had already commenced in the neigh-
borhood. But her intrepid spirit was
rather intensifie|d than depressed by
the proximity of danger; and her hus-
band's axe, which she had brought
in from the wood-pile, looked as tho
it was ready and willing to be sunk
to the helve in the skulls of half a
dozen Indians.

During the afternoon it was ascer-
tained that one of our neighbors had
discharged his gun at a squirrel in the
field, and that he knew nothing of my
being in the melon patch at the time,
nor of the panic produced by the
sound of his gun.

This morning our scouts returned,
and brought the news that it was a
false alarm; that the Indians were
peaceable; that no depredations had
been committed, and that the story
and alarm originated in the following
manner: A man who owned a claim on
Tippecanoe river near Pretty prairie,
fearing that some one of the num-
erous land hunters that were constant-
ly scouring the country, might enter
the land he had settled upon before he
could raise the money to buy it, see-
ing one day a cavalcade of land hunt-
ers riding in the direction of his claim,
mounted his horse and darted off at
full speed to meet them, swinging his

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

hat and shouting at the top of his
voice, "Indians! Indians! The woods
are full of Indians, murdering and
scalping all before them!" — They
paused a moment, but as the terrified
horseman still urged his jaded animal
and cried, "Help, Longlois — Cicots,
help;" they turned and fled like a
troop of retreating cavalry, hastening
to the thickest settlements and giving
the alarm, which spread like fire among
stubble, until the whole frontier reg-
ion was shocked with the startling
cry.

The squatter, who fabricated the
story and perpetrated the false alarm,
took a circuitous route and returned
home that evening; and while others
were busy building temporary block
houses, and rubbing up their guns to
meet the Indians, he was quietly gath-
ering up money, and slipped down to
Crawfordsville and entered his land,
to which he returned again, chuckling
in his sleeve and mentally soliloquiz-

ing— There is a Yankee trick for you —
done by a Hoosier.

This incident as narrated by Mr. Cox
was a favorite story of the late Newlin
H. Yount, who was the last surviving
participant in the panic described.
At the time he was one year old and
his parents lived on what is now the
Ignatz Pritscher farm, and they fled
to the cabin of a family named Hu-
shaw, on what is now the Will C, Clap-
ham farm, and this cabin stood in
what is now the farmhouse yard. John
E. Latta, sr., who is remembered as
one of Attica's most important men of
his day, was notified but he received
the warning too late to go. He spent
the night in anticipation of an at-
tack upon his home, and was under
such a strain that when he saw his
own shadow behind him on the wall
he whirled and struck it so hard he
hurt his hand and bore the sears of
the injury long afterward.

Williamsport in 1 829

In his journeyings up and down the
Wabash valley as a district schoolmaster
during the decade following 1825 Sand-
ford C. Cox, to whom I have referred
before, visited Montgomery, Fountain,
Clinton, Tippecanoe and Warren coun-
tise. The schools in those days being
purely private affairs organized by the
teacher among the patrons, who erected
a cabin for a schoolhouse and paid the
teacher's salary, Schoolmaster Cox
traveled about considerably looking for
the most thickly populated communi-
ties. Often it took three of the largest

neighborhoods to furnish enough ' * schol-
ars" for one good school. From Cox's
" Eecollections of the Early Settlement
of the Wabash Valley," I shall quote
his description of early Williamsport.
Readers should remember that the Wil-
liamsport which he describes was lo-
cated down near the river — the section
now known as "Old Town." Main
street, to which he refers, is the one
which runs east and west past E. F.
McCabe's residence, and the date of his
first visit is about 1829. He wrote as
fellows:

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

"On my first visit to Williamsport,
the county seat of Warren county, I
stopped with William iSearch, viho kept
a boarding house on Main street, near
where the Warren Republican, an ex-
cellent newspaper, is now (1859) print-
ed and published by my old friend, Enos
Canutt, Esq.

James Cunningham, the clerk and re-
corder of the county, boarded and kept
his office in Search's house; and as the
most of his time was occupied in build-
ing a couple of flatboats to carry corn
to the New Orleans market the next
spring, he employed me to write in his
office of nights and on Saturdays, which
would not interfere with my school
hours.

The town then consisted of five fam-
ilies, viz: William Harrison, the proprie-
tor of the village, who kept the ferry,
and a little tavern and grocery at the
foot of Main street; Dr. Jas. H. Buell,
Ullery, Search and a man called Wild
Cat Wilson. Two only (Harrison and
Wilson) of the families above named
had children large enough to go to
school. The rest of my patrons lived
in the country, some two or three miles
from town, and consisted of John Se-
mans, sheriff of the county, Wesley
Clark, Eobb, Hickenbotham, and one or
two more.

At this time Warren county was but
thinly settled. Perrin Kent, county sur-
veyor, Tillotson, Clinton, and a few
other families lived down towards Bal-
timore and Mound prairie.

On Redwood, and sprinkled thru
the woods, and on the edge of the
Grand prairie, lived John B. King,
Shanklin, Jameson, Hall, Butterfield,
Purviance and a few other. On Kicka-
poo, a small stream lying north of Big
Pine creek, was a settlement composed

of Boggs, Enoch Farmer, Samuel En-
sley, John and Joseph Cox, Seavers,
the widow Mickle, McMahan, the wid-
ow Cox, Hollingsworth, Solomon Mun-
roe, Isaac Waymire and Zachariah
Cicot, the French-and-Indian trader.

Up Pine creek, in the Rainsville
neighborhood, lived James Gooden and
Benjamin Crow, county commissioners,
William and Jonathan Rhode, Dickson
Cobb, Ridenour, Seymour Rhode, Wil-
liam Railsback, Isaac Metsker, Esq.
Kearns, McCords, and a few others.
Above Cicot 's were Judge Samuel B.
Clark, Fenton, Magee, Edward Mace
(father of the Hon. Dan Mace), Jerry
Davis, John and Gabriel Reed, Thomas
Johnson, Dawsons, Orrin Munson, Sine
Munson, James Stewart, Moores, Bow-
yer and John Stevenson, alias "Jack
Stinson, " who in his earlier and palm-
ier days, taught school in the Reed and
Davis neighborhood, and perpetrated
none of the eccentricities which filled
the last twenty years of his life.

The natural scenery around the town
of Williamsport is romantic and beau-
tiful, well worthy the pencil of the
painter or the pen of the poet. A range
of hills surrounded the original town,
on the north and west, crowned with
amphitheatre ranges of trees, whose
tops rose above each other in such reg-
ular gradations that in the spring time
when robed in green, or when attired
in their variegated hues of autumn, they
reminded one of a good comely mother,
surrounded with her bevy of lovely
daughters, bedecked with green, scarlet
or yellow, according to the age, taste
or caprice of the wearer. A few clumps
of tall evergreen pines are intermixed
with these trees, along the steep cliffs
that overhang the south bank of Fall
branch, a small- stream that meanders

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

thru a narrow and fertile valley which
lies on the north side of town. This
little stream takes its name from a
cataract, where its pellucid waters are
precipitated over falls some eighty or
one hundred feet high, into a deep
chasm, resembling the deep, narrow bed
of the Niagara river. Near the falls
is a deep chasm, or fissure in the earth,
produced no doubt by an earthquake,
or some great convulsion of nature,
along which pedestrians can walk single
file, from the top of the hill thru this
subterranean passage to the foot of the
falls. Any person fond of the marvel-
ous, or desirous of being reminded of
the dark valley of the shadow of the
valley of death, can gratify their cur-
iosity by taking a lonely ramble down
this dark, deep descent. The interest
of this little Niagara is greatly en-
hanced during the spring and winter
freshets, when the accumulated waters
of Fall branch leap and thunder over
the rocks, throwing up foam and spray
that form a mimic rainbow above the

heads of the shrubs and bushes that
line the banks of the noisy streamlet,
which laughs and leaps along in the
sunlight a few hundred yards until it is
lost in the placid bosom of the Wabash
river, which rolls its broad, clear cur-
rent along the eastern margin of the
town. At the Falls, and in the hills
around the town is to be found some of
the best sand and free stone in the
state. A few huge specimens, about
the size of the ordinary courthouse,
can be seen lying around on the surface
of the ground in several places near the
town as if nature had placed them there
to direct the attention of man to the
rich quarries that lie imbedded beneath.
About half a mile below town, surround-
ed by a broken and romantic landscape,
is a large mineral spring, whose chily-
beate waters are but little inferior to
the celebrated artesian well at Lafay-
ette, which is fast becoming a popular
watering place for invalids and excur-
sionists. ' '

"Undergrround Railroad" Station at Bethel

Among the very first settlements
made in Fountain County was that of
Bethel. The majority of the first set-
tlers, of this neighborhood were Quak-
ers, who had come from North and
South Carolina to Ohio and from Ohio
to Indiana. On the account of their
religion they were bitterly opposed to
the institution of slavery and almost
as soon as land was opened for entry
at Crawfordsville, (December 1824),
they had selected their lands and

taken their claims in the Bethel
neighborhood. A quarter of a mile
north of the Bethel church, in the
north-east quarter of section 35, was
very dense timber and some three or
four very large buttonwood swamps.
These swamps covered five to ten acres
of ground, water stood from knee-deep
to waist-deep in them the year around,
and they were full of tussocks. The
buttonwood brush grew so thick on the
tussocks that its shade covered the en-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

tire surface of the water. The brush
grew about eight feet high and was so
dense that the sun could not shine
thru it. In addition to the buttonwood
brush, there grew on the tussocks a
giant fern. The leaves often grew six
feet long and four feet wide and com-
pletely covered the space below the
brush and limbs of the buttonwood.

The Quakers soon conceived the idea
of making use of these swamps and
they located in those woods one of
the "stations" for the negro slaves,
who could flee the Southern states and
make their way up the Wabash river
toward Canada, even that early. Al-
most immediately after the entry of
the land in that locality there were
a few negro cabins built at the edge
of these ponds, perhaps twenty or
twenty-five, and hundreds of negroes
who had stolen away from their mas-
ters in the South were hidden in the
brush and ponds during the days of
"the underground railroad." When
the negroes got into these ponds the
bloodhounds could trace them no
further and the Quaker settlement
to the south furnished them food and
clothing and started them on their way
for the next "station."

There were at one time as many as
one hundred negroes living in these
woods and they continued to come from
the Southern states to this settlement
from about 1826 until the breaking out
of the Civil war in 1860; some of
them continuing to live there until
about twenty years ago. "Jim"
Jackson, Dan C. Reed 's trusty chauffeur
and handy man, is the last remaining
representative of this community of
colored families that lived about these
swamps. All have vanished and he

alone is left — like the last of the
Mohicans! His grandfather's name
was Alec Simpson, a man of great
physical strength, and his Grandmother
Simpson was a preacher, I have heard
Mrs. Simpson preach a few sermons
to the negroes of that settlement when
I was a bare-foot boy. She would
preach Sunday afternoons in some of
the cabins.

Then there was a negro called Billy
Jefferson. He and Simpson, and some
eight or ten other negro families, were
among the very first to settle in that
community and they stayed there and
religiously protected their colored
brothers and sisters who had escaped
from the slave states and were on their
road to Canada. If a negro could
reach one of their caoins in this great
wood, he was safe. While hundreds
of them were pursued and chased, not
one was ever taken captive in that
negro settlement. Al Edwards came
into that locality about the close of the
war and the Scotts probably ten years
later, but the negroes who first settled
in the woods back of the Bethel church,
and who came in with the Quaker
families, moved out of that neighbor-
hood after the Civil war. They did
not care to live there only so long
as they could be of service to their
race.

Billy Jefferson, while hunting in
Davis township, let his gun slip, so
it went off and the load went thru his
hand mangling it so that he had the
hand amputated. At the close of the
Civil war his son killed a negro by the
name of Cy Adams. Piilly Jefferson
felt so bad about this that he moved
away, going to Danville, Illinois.

Not only did the negroes have

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

preaching and revival meetings of
their own but they had dances and
picnics, and it was nothing uncommon
for them to have a campmeeting that
would last for three or four weeks.
The campmeeting would be interspers-
ed with dances and the music would
be made with violins, banjos and tam-
bourines. There were very few but
what could play some kind of musical
instrument. When a boy, I attended
all their entertainments that my par-
ents would permit and enjoyed them
very much.

Among those negroes was one worthy
of particular note. His name was Ben
Moore. He was one of the most per-
fect specimens of physical manhood
who has ever lived in this county.
He was 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighed
316 pounds, and was raw-boned; with-
out an ounce of surplus flesh. He got
boisterous in Attica one day and
Eeuben Beamer, who was then marshal,
attempted to arrest him. He enlisted
four or five deputies; a general fight
ensued and Beamer testifies today that
Moore was the most powerful man who
ever walked the streets of Attica.

At the siege of the Alamo, when the
massacre of March 6, 1836, occurred in
the war for Texas independence, the
fort was held by about 140 men, un-
der William B. Travis. On February
23d it was infested by a Mexican army,
of probably four thousand, under Gen.
Santa Anna, who at once began a
bombardment which scarcely inter-
mitted for the next ten days. The
little garrison, compelled to man the
defenses day and night and too few
to relieve each other, sent desperate
appeals to their outside comrades for
help. But to break thru the dense

Mexican forces was so difficult that the
only re-inforcement received was 32
men on the first of March. At last a
breach was made in the walls, and
shortly after daylight, March 6th, the
general assault was ordered. Twice
the storming party was repulsed with
petty loss of life. The third time it
gained the parapet and entered the
enclosure. No surrender was offered
and the result showed that the Texans
knew their foes too well to expect
quarter. Worn with fatigue and pri-
vation, they fought to a finish until
only five were left. And among the
splendid men who died there was Dav-
id Crockett. And of the 180 inmates
three women, two white children and
one negro boy were the sole survivors
of this historic siege. That one negro
boy was Benjamin Moore, who was a
body servant of Crockett. When ho
got away from the Mexicans he went
back to Tennessee and Kentucky and
lived there until just before the Civil
war broke out, when he started with
his family to Canada. When he reach-
ed the negro settlement in the woods
north of the Bethel church he conclud-
ed to go no farther and lived in Davis
township and Tippecanoe county and
near this settlement the rest of his
life.

He had four sons, all powerful men.
Two of them died of consumption in
the community north of Bethel. One
of them worked for Azariah Leath and
was a good hand. His youngest boy
was the strongest man who was ever
an inmate of the reformatory at Jef-
fersonville. He was placed in jail at
Covington, accused of stealing $20 of
Gid. Leak along with William Scott.
Judge Milford and myself defended

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

these negroes in this trial. Moore con-
eluded one day when an election was
on in Covington to bid farewell to the
bastile. Eobt. Miller, the sheriff, lock-
j ed him in the cell to take part in tho
! election. About 2:00 o'clock in the
I afternoon, when he knew all the poli-
I ticians of Covington (every man in
I Covington is a politican) were en-
gaged in the election, he took hold of
the iron door of his cell, easily broke
the powerful lock, then v/ith tho
strength of a Sampson he broke both
hinges to the doors, took the heavy
door of solid iron and smashed thru
the stone floor. He loosed the prison-
ers to follow him, dropt into the cel-
lar of the jail, pulled out the cellar win-
dows more easily than Sampson broke
down the pillars of the Philistine
temple, and he and all of the prisoners,
with the exception of William Scott,
escaped and crossed the river on the
Big Four railroad bridge into Warren
county. When it was discovered that
they had broken jail, a large posse of
men followed and recaptured all the es-
caping prisoners. If you should ever
happen to step into the jail at Cov-
ington, you may still see the heavy
iron slab covering the hole Moore
broke thru the stone floor with the
iron door.

Near the negro community was a
spring known as the "Poison spring."

There was a great deal of milksick in
these woods and the cattle and sheep
and horses, which got away from the
farmers and wandered into the woods,
would get this peculiar disease and
go to this spring or the stream that ran
from it for water. Its banks were con-
tinually lined with dead and dying
stock and on account of this it was
known far and wide as the "Poison
spring." It is now the spring near
Marion Morgan 's house and since the
timber has been cut off and the swamps
drained it is considered a spring of
fine water.

The forest of which this quarter sec-
tion was a part was about three miles
in width and about nine miles long
and contained the largest deciduous
trees that I ever saw growing in Am-
erica. A few white oak and burr oak
trees in these woods grew as much
as six and a half feet thru at the
stumpy while the yellow poplar, or
northern tulip, would grow seven feet
six inches thru at the stump. They
would grow tall and hold their bodies
well. This forest is about all gone and
much of the garden truck with which
Attica is supplied is grown near the
"Poison spring" and the site of the
negro village. The milksick and the
negroes have been gone from that lo-
cality more than twenty years.

Bethel Church

In 1826, when Fountain county was
organized, Davis township extended
two miles further west than it does
now, a two-mile slice being taken off

in 1833 and added to a portion of
Shawnee township to make Logan town-
ship.

In 1825 there was a Methodist class,

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

with a few members, scattered over
Davis township. One of the active
members in this class was a man by
the name of Linn. Mr. Linn owned ten
acres of land where Bethel church now
stands and was a member of the
Methodist organization. In 1827 a log
church was built in what would now
be the Bethel graveyard, and a class
was organized, known as the Davis
Township Methodist Association. Linn's
cabin stood where Bethel graveyard is
and this location was selected because
it was near the center of Davis town-
ship. This class ran along in a desul-
tory way for about two years when the
Campbells, Pearsons, Parnells, Wal-
drips, who were Quakers, received re-
cruits enough to share half the time
with the Methodist Association.

In 1828 an United Brethren preacher
held a revival meeting in the Bethel
church. He did not try to get joiners;
he simply tried to make converts, and
succeeded in getting nearly every fami-
ly for miles around interested in his
work. At the close of this meeting
he advised that they have but one de-
nomination. The United Brethren and
Methodists were ready to vote on this
but the Quakers, who seemed to be in
the minority, refused to leave their
faith. They continued to have their
Quaker meetings every two weeks, and
ran along for probably three months
after the revival had closed. It was
the custom of the Quakers in their
meetings to have two class-leaders, and
the members spoke only when the spirit
moved them. When the spirit moved
both of the class-leaders to dismiss at
the same time they arose and shook
hands, and this closed the service.
John Campbell and Jonathan Campbell,

two brothers, were the class-leaders in |
the Quaker congregation. Once a few
weeks after the evangelistic services
closed John felt moved to dismiss early
in the meeting. He arose and extended j
his hand to his brother Jonathan, but i
the spirit had not yet moved Jonathan,
and John took his seat. About ten ;
minutes later Jonathan arose and ex- i
tended his hand to John but the spirit '
did not move John then so Jonathan ,
sat down and waited. After about \
fifteen minutes had passed he concluded |
that the spirit was not going to move I
his younger brother to close the meet- .
ing that evening. Then he arose and j
announced to the congregation that
he would cast his vote to unite with
the Methodists as soon as he got an
opportunity. Jacob Turnian, a pioneer
Methodist preacher, who had been one
of the first preachers to move into the
Bethel neighborhood, was in the con-
gregation. He immediatelj'- arose and
announced that there would be such a
meeting the Sunday following, and the
vote was taken as between the Quakers
and the Methodists. In the meantime
John canvassed the community for the
Quakers, while Jonathan canvassed for
the Methodists and when the vote was
taken, with the United Brethren voting
with the Methodists, they carried the
election in favor of all uniting as
Methodists by only one vote. After
the Methodists won all the Quakers
joined the Methodist church. This John
Campbell was the grandfather of Mrs.
Ed Purviance and his brother Jonathan
was the grandfather of Tom Campbell
and Mrs. Connell. They had an older
brother by the name of Henry Camp-
bell, who lived in the Bethel neighbor-
hood and Mrs. Waldrip was a sister

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

and my Grandmother Whicker a niece
of these Campbells. They are all buried
in the Bethel graveyard.

After this community decided to or-
ganize and maintain a Methodist church
the church throve for a few years like
a green bay tree, and by 1829 was one
of the largest Methodist congregations
in the state. .Some of the best preach-
ers in the state were sent to this class.
They built a parsonage in which the
ministers who were in charge lived for
many years. As soon as the question
of what denomination would have con-
trol of the religious matters of the
community v.'as settled, they purchased
the ten-acre tract of Mr. Linn, and
nine acres of it was laid off for a
graveyard, one acre being reserved for
the church and the schoolhouse. Eeally
the township has no interest what-
ever in the land as it was purchased
by the people, nine acres of it for a
graveyard and one acre set apart on
which to build the church. The people
of the neighborhood by common consent
built the first schoolhouse on this lot
and it came into control of the town-
ship when the subscription schools
ceased. Under the present law it would
be the duty of the township trustee
to take care of the Bethel graveyard,
and in-as-much as the people who have
been interested in that ten acres of land
have given the township a place for a
schoolhouse, without expense nearly 90
years, the township could afford to take
care of this graveyard and take care
of it well.

The schoolhouse erected there years
ago burned down last summer and a
handsome new one, of bungalow de-
sign, was built on the old site.

Jacob Turman, the pioneer Methodist

preacher, who took advantage of the
disagreement of the Campbell brothers,
was a grandfather of Samuel Turman
and a great-grandfather of the Eoss
Brothers who edit The Ledger. His
father settled in a very early day on
Turman was born near there. He
Sullivan county, Indiana, and Jacob
Turman was born was born there. He
joined the Methodist church when about
tv/enty years of age and went to Blinois
as a missionary, among the Indians,
traveling and preaching among them
for four years. Jacob Turman went
home to visit his father while preach-
ing among the Indians in Illinois, and
there were still numerous Indians in
Sullivan county. The Indians had plan-
ned to murder the elder Turman, drive
away his stock and rob him of his
property, but on the first night of
Jacob's return his father invited him
to conduct family devotions. While
Jacob was praying the Indians sur-
rounded his home and looking thru
the windows saw the family at prayer.
On account of their superstitions they
felt that it would be an offense to
the Great Spirit to disturb them at
that time and they withdrew, crossed
the Wabash river and attacked a house
in which there was a woman, with two
or three children, alone for the night,
and brutally murdered them. It was
not Jacob's prayer but the Indians'
superstition that saved the Turmans.
The old pastor used often to relate
this incident in his sermons, and give
it as an instance of the power of prayer.
Jacob Turman 's wife, before her mar-
riage, was Susan Kollins of Lexington,
Ky?, a distant relative of Henry Clay,
and the mother of the Eoss Brothers
was named for her. They settled in

SKETCHES OF TPIE WABASH VALLEY

the Bethel neighborhood in October,
1824, making one of the very first set-
tlements in what is now Logan town-
ships. The Campbells, Pearsons, Wal-
drips, Burches and Eobert Clapham
came the next spring.

Jacob Turman died in the Bethel
neighborhood in 1840. He was a very
devout Methodist all his life and felt
that his greatest achievement was in
establishing the Methodist class at
Bethel. This Methodist class furnished
forty-six preachers to the Methodist
Church. I shall give the names of
a few of them: Pierce Ehodes, who
founded the college at Onarga, 111., and
also the Methodist college at Baldwin,
Kansas; Zenas Turman, of Nebraska;
John Spray, of Oregon; William Camp-
bell, James Campbell Jerry Campbell,
Samuel Campbell, "Wilson Campbell,
Mary Ward, Augusta Tullis, (who did
effective work as a missionary in
Africa), Henry Benson of California,
Eobert Clapham, two brothers who
ppeached in Iowa by the name of
Williams, Wiley Jones, and Edgar
Tullis. Some of these preached for the
United Brethren Church and some for
the Free Methodists, but out of the
forty at least thirty of them begun their
work early in life in the Methodist
church and were of great value to
that denomination. William Campbell,
Pierce Ehodes, Samuel Campbell, Henry
Benson and Augusta Tullis-Kelly are
deserving of special notice because of
their accomplishments in after years.
In 1825 a campmeeting was held by
the Methodists at a large spring known
as the Campbell Spring, near the Bethel
Church. These campmeetings were held
annually for many years. They lasted
about four weeks, usually began about

the first of September and thousands of
people attended. For perhaps fifteen
or twenty years many Indians camped
with the Methodists and took part and
it was a boast of the church that many
Indians were converted at these meet-
ings from 1826 to 1836. The last camp-
meeting held at this spring was a two-
days meeting. I was a boy about nine
years of age, but remember quite well
attending the meeting. Eichard Har-
grave was the preacher; he stood very
high, not only among the Methodists
hut among all classes. Not only was
Eichard Hargrave a good preacher but
he was a splendid man and all who
knew him loved him. The splendid
personality of Hargrave made him
more than a local character. He was
the father of Carrie Campbell, the wife
of Jonathan Campbell, and grandfather
of Mrs. Ed Purvianee, Will Campbell,
Ora Grant, Mrs. G. Parnell, John,
Eichard and Grant Campbell.

The Bethel neighborhood furnished a
few good singers, among them being
William Waldrip. I listened with great
pleasure to Jonathan Campbell as he
sang in the choir at Bethel with clear
voice when he was near eighty years of
age. Jonathan Campbell's sweet voice
on this occasion, I remember as I re-
member the voice of my mother, whom
I believe, without prejudice, can be
classed as one of the rare voices which
our county has produced.

I perhaps am a little prejudiced be-
cause of the interest of our family
there, and yet in its late days the
Bethel community developed too much
of caste and I would prefer now, as
I did in my boyhood, the association
of the Swedish community, east of
Attica; of the Germans, with their beer

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

parties; or of the Irish at Maysville.
I took part in all of them. I was in
no way related to the Germans, the
Irish or the Swedes and I speak only
with the experience of years in con-
cluding that, had the Methodist church
at Bethel become a part of the great
American Melting Pot and tried to as-
simulate the German, the Swede and
the Irishman, and to direct and culti-
vate their course in life away from
the clannish ideas of Europe instead of
becoming a clan itself with a caste
almost as iron-clad as those of India,

the Bethel church could and would
have been one of the greatest factors
for good and real Americanism in this
locality. They lost this opportunity,
and losing it lost the blessing of the
Angel with whom they had wrestled.

Altho the old church still stands the
congregation and the community is now
but a memory, but indeed, it is a
pleasant memory. Not only has its
touch been of value to the Methodist
church, it has been of value to this
community, of value to all who have
come in contact with it.

The Mills on Shawnee Creek

The first settlers in Fountain county
realized the value of water power,
particularly the water power of Coal
creek and Shawnee creek.

Bloomer White built the first mill
on Coal creek south of Veedersburg and
soon after this the Mallerys built a
mill near the lime crushing plant on
Shawnee creek. This was the first
grist mill built on Shawnee. It was
a good mill and prospered for many
years. Afterwards the McMillens,
Eookwalters, Greenwoods and Bur-
bridges had grist mills on this stream.
The proprietor of the McMillen mill
was the grandfather of Mark and Dan
Briney and great-great-grandfather of
Mrs. Fred S. Purnell. The Mallery
mill was run by water power gathered
from two large springs on the hill just
above the lime plant. This mill was a
very well built small mill and was
operated by the Mallerys for perhaps
thirty years when the mill and dwelling
houses about it burned. These mills

were all of them of advantage to Rob
Roy.

Rob Roy was laid out in 1826 by
John Foster and he and Mr. Lopp
operated a saw mill on Shawnee creek,
near the town. Hiram Jones afterward
platted an addition to the town. It
is said that Mr. Foster was an admirer
of the writings of Sir Walter Scott and
named his town in honor of the Scotch
outlaw Rob Roy, who figured in one
of Scott's tales. Mr. Foster after-
wards moved to Iowa and Rob Roy
became a prosperous place and finally
the largest town in Fountain county.
At one time it had a row of brick
business buildings and people went
from Attica and Covington to Rob Roy
to trade; in fact, it became the center
of the merchandising in the county.
The town at that time (about 1836)
had five dry goods stores, four grocer-
ies, a hotel, three doctors, and was the
center of a very active community.
Some fine horse shows were held there

100

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

in those days and Eob Eoy was a
very promising town. When it was
laid out a public square was platted
with avenues running diagonally from
each corner — really the best plat of
any of the towns of Tountain county.
But ' ' the best laid plans of mice and
men, gang aft agley" and now there
remains no trace of the square or the
avenues. Even the business houses are
gone and there remains on the old site
only a few residences. Like Maysville,
Eob Eoy met its Waterloo when the
Wabash and Erie canal was built and
Attica had its first boom.

The mills along Shawnee did a
flourishing business. There were no
more than four of them in operation at
one time. At the mouth of Shawnee
a man by the name of Smith erected
a wharf for loading boats on the Wab-
ash river and the products of the mills
along Shawnee were hauled to this
wharf and loaded on the flatboats and
steam boats and sent to New Orleans,
while many loads of flour were taken
overland to White Pigeon, Michigan,
and Chicago, Illinois. In connection
with this wharf Mr. Smith had a store-
house or elevator and bought all kinds
of grain. About 1830, he built a dis-
tillery near the Trott bridge and a
packing house further down the creek
near the river. About this packing
house were a few buildings and they
called the place Table Eock; this name
was in honor of the large table rock
on Will Young's place south of Attica.
Near the distillery Mr. Smith laid off
another town, which he christened
Jamestown but the community insisted
on referring to it as " Yankeetown; "
"Yankeetown" really included both
Table Eock and Jamestown. In addi-

tion to his distillery at "Yankee^
town" Mr. Smith also built a packing!
house and the packing house, distillery
and grain elevator operated at the
mouth of Shawnee made "Yankee-
town" a flourishing place. They hadj
a hotel, dry goods store, grocery, a;
saloon and a general store, and all;
the industries at the mouth of Shawnee |
prospered, particularly the packing i
house and distillery. Many hogs, cattle |
and sheep were slaughtered and shipt
down the river to New Orleans, or
hauled overland to the lake from
' ' Yankeetown ' ' at the mouth of Shaw- j
nee. They would throw the offal from i
the packing house in the brush near I
where the Wabash gravel pits now are,'
and the wolves would cross the river
when it was frozen over, from the
Warren county side, by the hundreds,
to feed upon the offal from this pack-
ing house. Their mournful howls could
be heard at night at Eob Eoy and
Attica and it was not considered safe
to travel the road from Attica to
"Yankeetown" after sundown.

The distillery burned and Mr. Smith
closed his packing house and moved to
Auburn, N. Y. He had made a comfort-
able fortune at the mouth of Shawnee
and went to Auburn to educate his
children. He died there a wealthy,
respected man.

It was thru Mr. Smith that Jacob,
GrifGth and William Town came to
Attica. Jacob Town was the grand-
father of Theodore and Horace Brant
and Griffith Town was the father of
Mrs. Draper and grandfather of Mrs.
David Benson Sr., of Independence.
Smith bought 240 acres of land, in-
cluding the Gus and Ed Leaf place and
the Vester place, for the Town brothers.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

101

The latter divided it, each taking 80
acres. As long as Jacob Town and
Smith lived there was nothing but a
letter sent by Smith to Town to show
Town's title to the land; and this letter
was his only evidence of title for 20
3'ears. Both he and Smith died near
the same time. The children of Town
wrote the children of Smith, stating
the condition of their title; and, know-
ing all the facts of the transaction the
Smith heirs aided the Town heirs in
every way they could to perfect their
title, feeling in honor bound to make
good their father's obligation, Lewis
Town, a son of Jacob Town, platted
Town's Addition to the City of Attica.
It was in the waters of Shawnee,
that the late John W. Bookwalter,
who at his death was probably the
wealthiest citizen Fountain county ever
produced, conducted the experiments
that afterword won him fame and
wealth. His father was a progressive
man and his mill was equipt with the
best machinery of the time. When
a man named Lefel in Springfield, Ohio,
put out a turbine wheel Mr. Bookwalter
used them in his mill. Young John
W. was of an inventive turn and after
numerous experiments devised a very
important improvement. With his fa-
ther 's approval he went to Springfield
and laid his plans before the manufac-
turer. The latter recognized the value
of the improvement and took the young
man into his factory where the inven-
tion was utilized. Later Lefel took
him into partnership and Bookwalter
married his only daughter. It was
thus that the experiments in the waters
of Shawnee creek were the foundation
upon which was built the fortune of
fourteen million dollars, which Mr.

Bookwalter left at his death.

The Bookwalters built the old stone
house below Rob Eoy and south of the
house a little way the Bookwalter boys
built a large telescope and many people
came from miles around to the Book-
waiter place to look thru the telescope
at the moon and the moving planets.

I remember well going to the Book-
waiter mill when a boy with my father,
and going with some of the Bookwalter
boys to the telescope to take a look
at the moon. And I remember going
with my father to the Burbridge mill
and his talking with Wilson Claypool,
one of the first settlers in the county,
on the road to the mill. After I was
grown I took a grist of wheat for flour
to the Bookwalter mill on Shawnee
and it was then operated by Lon
Swank, our illustrious drayman, and
Ab Donovan, now druggist to his honor,
the citizen of Williamsport. Frank
Ilatton had charge of the mill the day
I took the grist to be ground and while
the miller watched the wheel roll
'round grinding out his wealth, Frank
and myself pitched knives into the door
of the ofl&ce. I was poor at knife
pitching but Frank could stick the
knife in the door every time.

We went down early in the morning
and the roads were frozen, but thru
the day the roads thawed and it was
almost impossible to get thru the Nave
lane from Frank Nave's to George
Stafford's on our return. This was the
worst piece of road I ever traveled over
in my life. I cannot describe it; first
one horse and then the other would go
down in the mire and I am sure I
was two hours in driving that distance.
This was my last trip to Shawnee creek
with a grist for the mills.

102

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

The Greenwood mill was at first only
a corncracker but when Harley Green-
wood purchased it he built additions
and made it a flouring mill.

F. W. Macoughtry, now postmaster
of Attica, and A. A. Greenwood op-
erated the Greenwood mill at one time
and it prospered under their manage-
ment, the demands upon them being
so great that they had to run day and
night, Frank Simmons, father of
Bural Carrier Charles Simmons, was
their miller. Harley Greenwood, the
builder and owner of the mill, was not
only a good miller but a good citizen.
At the present time we call Tom Leif
"king of the Swedes," and Paul
Hoste "king of the Hollanders," and
in his day and generation Harley
Greenwood was called "The king of
Shawnee." "The king's highway,"
leading south from Attica past Eiver-
side cemetery to Eob Eoy, was so
called in honor of Mr. Greenwood.

Postmaster Macoughtry recalls that
in 1870 he and Mr. Greenwood made
a trip to the Shenandoah Valley for
a visit with his wife's folks and from
there to Maine, where his own people
were. When they left Eob Eoy Mr.
Greenwood took with him $8,000 in

currency and distributed this among
his relatives and those of his wife.
When they reached Toledo, Ohio, on
the return trip he had to borrow $10
from Mr. Macoughtry to have enough
to get back home. While in New York
on this trip Mr. Macoughtry and the
old gentleman saw "The Black Crook"
a noted play which was then having
its first run, and which created a sensa-
tion thruout the country.

The grist mills on Shawnee were an
important industry until about thirty
years ago. Some of the old frames
are still standing but there has been
no flour made on Shawnee for many
years and the water power which was
considered so valuable in the early
settlement of our country is no longer
of any use; in fact, the flow of water
has diminished so that it would no
longer afford the necessary power the
greater part of the year. The mills
have gone the way of all the earth,
yet occasionally there lingers with us
one of the millers who watched the
turning of the stone that ground the
grist in the old water mills. The
small mills have been caught between
the upper and the nether stones of
modern commerce.

Ravine Park

Kavine Park in Attica has always
bpen an interesting place and to it
and its springs is partly due the loca-
tion of the city. The earliest settlers
found it a favorite camping ground of
the Indians owing to the fine springa
and the shelter which it afforded in
winter. Fresh water was always a

consideration not only with the Indians
but with the white man as well and
so we find that the trail from the
Shawnee Prairie led past these springs
to the old Sycamore ford, near where
the Wabash railroad bridge now spans
the river. It was the presen^^.e of this
ford and the trail leading up from

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

103

it that first attracted the attention of
Hollingsworth and Stump to the pos-
sibilities which this location offered for
a town site.
|r The springs were much used by the
early settlers and Joseph Peacock, one
of the city's pioneers, spent the first
winter after he came to Attica in a log
cabin which he found vacant near the
big spring where the old reservoir is
located.

The grounds where the chautauqua is
held, was a brickyard in the early
history of the city and the brick for
the first brick building in the town — •
a small store building located where
Borst Bros, meat market is now — was
burned there. The old brick house
just south of the chautauqua grounds
also contains brick burned there. The
yards and kilns of this plant were
located just south of the automobile
entrance to the chautauqua grounds,
near the old orchard there, and the
presence of half-buried brickbats still
testifies to the fact. The clay was
obtained in the ravine where the chau-
tauqua pavilion is located and later
the yard was operated there. The
hillocks about the building are monu-
ments to this pioneer industry. M. V.
Chapman, who afterward operated a
photograph gallery in this city, burned
brick on this site for many years in
his younger days. Nearly all the brick
for the older buildings in the city were
made there.

Very early in the history of Attica,
(about 1830), a stillhouse or distillery
was erected by Joseph Collyer just
above the springs, about where the
little log cabin used as a park tool-
house is now located. The distillery
was also a rude mill, two large nigger-

head stones being used as millstones.
Eemnants of the foundations of this
old building can still be seen. This
stillhouse and mill was operated at
one time by a man named Hickson.
Later Armsby Green, the grandfather
of A. P. Green, ran the plant and the
latter 's father lost the sight of an
eye while playing there as a boy. It
is interesting as measuring the growth
of changing conditions in the communi-
ty that C. Lewis Green this year man-
aged a chautauqua in the same park
where his great-grandfather managed
a distillery. The distillery in those
days was considered almost as necessary
as the mill and whisky, it must be
remembered, was sold as freely in those
days as is vinegar today. In fact, it
was sold in much the same way, every
grocery having a barrel of whisky on
tap, just as they have vinegar today,
and nearly every family kept a jug of
it in the house.

Not far from where the chautauqua
pavilion stands was once located an-
other factory where all kinds of wood-
enware were made. The man who ran
this industry selected his woods very
carefully and turned out some very
fine wooden bowls, ladles, butter prints
and other articles of that character.
There was no aluminum or granite-
ware in those days, even crockery was
scarce, and these wooden utensils were
much in favor with the pioneer women
of Attica.

Another interesting industry now
long since forgotten except by a few
of the oldest Atticans, was a lime kiln
operated at a point where the high
bridge at Canada street is now located.
The sides of the hill there contain large
deposits of marl which can be seen

104

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

cropping out about the springs just
above the old reservoir, while below
the bridge are two large chunks of it
at the side of the drive. These are
probably fragments excavated while the
plant was in operation and thus remain
as a monument to a dead industry.
From this marl the lime was obtained
by burning in kilns located in the hill-
side. Many of the older brick houses
in the city were built with lime obtain-
ed from this place. It was used too in
plastering the walls of the first frame
houses and in building the chimneys
and daubing the chinks of the log
cabins of the earliest settlers. For a
time this was quite an industry.

Soon after J. D. McDonald came to
Attica from Williamsport he acquired
possession of the ravine and other
adjacent land and owned it for many
years. He erected the large residence
opposite the high school building where
James Scribner now lives. In 1835
Levy Hollovy leased the springs of
McDonald and undertook to establish
a waterworks system for the town. He
built a dam in the lower part of the
park, near where Marshal Beamer's
barn now stands, and there he water-
seasoned logs, which he later bored by
hand and used as pipes. He brought
the water down as far as McDermond's
corner in this way and served a num-
ber of patrons, with the clear cold
spring water. After a few years Hollovy
sold his lease to a stock company which
extended the lines thru the main streets
of town and this served until 1858.
A part of these pipes were above ground
and rested on wooden supports a couple
of feet high. The faucets were simply
holes in the pipes stopt with a wooden
plug, and one could pull out a plug

and get a refreshing drink or fill a
pitcher from these holes. Thus we see
that the principle of the new-fangled
bubble fountains is an old one after
all. The system of log pipes soon fell
into bad repair. As they began to
rot they were neglected and were
never replaced and the enterprise was
allowed to fall thru. Marshall Milford,
Luke Whicker and a few other citizens,
at their own expense, bought and laid
iron pipes from the spring to the top
of the hill in order to keep the water
flowing and thus preserve the lease for
the city.

In 1873 the City Council took up the
matter and laid iron pipes from the
Milford house down town and located
a number of hydrants for the use of
the public. This stimulated the desire
for a real waterworks system and two
years later the city bought the springs.
The two stone reservoirs were built,
one at the bottom and the other on top
of the hill, and a pumping station was
created near the lower one. The
foundations of this old pumping plant
still stand beside the driveway just
east of the lower reservoir. Pipes were
extended over the principal part of
the city and many of the pipes then
laid are still in use today. This system
served until 1901 when the City bought
the electric light plant and moved
the pumping station to the river front,
where the two were combined. Deep
wells were driven for the water sup-
ply and the water from them was pump-
ed into a new and larger reservoir con-
structed on higher ground at the east-
ern edge of the city. The fine springs
which had quenched the thirst of the
people of Attica for nearly seventy
years were abandoned to the bullfrog.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

105

The old dam built by Hollovy en-
dured for many years and in spite of
the coolness of the water it rivaled the
canal as a swimming place for the boys
of that generation, some of whom are
still living. Samuel Mentzer, who had
the contract for sprinkling the streets
in those days, filled his tank there
and kept up the dam for that purpose.
He rigged up a simple bathouse there,
with a showerbath, towels, soap etc.
and realized quite a revenue from it,
the bathers being charged 25c each.
Marshal Beamer in his youth was a
patron of this establishment, ar.d re-
members it well.

Some of the most interesting history
in connection with Eavine park relates
to the fairs which were held there for
a number of years. The fairground
occupied the same site which the Chau-
tauqua does now and the old race-
course can still be traced as it circles
around the grounds. It was only a
lifth of a mile around but some good
races were put on there. There was
no grandstand but nature had provided
one in the hillside at the south side
of the grounds and on big days its
grassy side was covered with an inter-
ested crowd of spectators, and many
of the older men and women of Attica
recall the happy days they spent there
as boys and girls. Four fairs, I think,
were all that were held there.

The first bicycle ever seen in Attica
was exhibited at the fair and it created
much interest. The machine was of the
stylo with a wheel four or five feet
high in front and a little one behind
with the saddle directly over the big
wheel. The rider was a Miss Lottie
St. Clair. She rode about halfway
around the ring when she met with a

mishap of some sort and took a header,
which ended the exhibition. I recall
seeing an ' ' appaloosey ' ' pacing horse
belonging to Ed Schlosser, of Warren
county, stumble and fall in a race on
this track. Mr. Schlosser was riding
the animal and was caught under him
and injured when he fell.

William Clapham Sr. raised fine, Eed
Durham or Shorthorn cattle, having
the finest herd in the state and one
of the finest in America. He took
great pride in his cattle and great in-
terest in the fair, and carried away
many prizes. His neighbor and friend,
John C. Campbell, raised white Durham
cattle, and he took pride in his cattle,
he and Campbell being strong compet-
itors at all the fairs. This contention
was entered into by Mr. Clapham and
Mr. Campbell with enthusiasm and
earnestness but always in good humor.
They would take their stock to the
fairs together, and if one of them had
to leave the other would take care
of all the stock. Both were really in-
terested in having better stock in this
country, and no one has done more to
improve the stock in this locality than
Mr. Clapham. In one contest for sweep-
stakes Clapham won as to the best
male and Campbell won as to the best
cow. Will Clapham was a boy then but
recalls as well as tho it were yesterday
how he helped show off the stock.

James Cassell and James TuUis, of
the Bethel neighborhood, contested at
these fairs for first honors on hogs and
sheep; they were as enthusiastic in
improving the stock of this locality
as Clapman and Campbell and added
their mite to getting rid of the razor-
backs, while Campbell and Clapham
were driving out the pennyroyal.

106

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Thomas Birch and William Waldrip
were usually at the gate to take in the
tickets and the fairs proved a success
for several years. They became as
widely patronized as is the chautauqua
and many of the grandparents of those
who attend the chautauqua attended
these fairs. They were looked forward
to for family reunions, a week of re-
creation and renewal of old acquaint-
ances with as much enthusiasm as is
the chautauqua. The fair flourished
and things moved nicely until the
management decided in their great wis-
dom and kindness to have a balloon
ascension and charge 25c extra. Nearly
every one would buy a badge for the
entire family and go every day, with
the understanding that these entitled
them to all the privileges and entertain-
ments on the grounds, so the 25c extra
charge for the balloon ascension caused
a tempest in a teapot. The farmers
who came from Fountain, Warren and
Benton counties rebelled and refused
to pay. H. J. Green was one of the
directors and he opposed the increase
so strongly that he took up a position
at the gate and paid the extra quarter
for those that objected until he had
paid out over $300 from his own pocket.
The crowd finally got too big for him
and he gave up. The 25c extra was
resented with a stubbornness that
amazed the fair management.

About the time that the contention
had reached its height and hundreds
of farmers were arguing with the
management while their families wait-
ed in their wagons and buggies, our
illustrious "Please God" Jacky Bethel
drove up in a one-horse shay, with two
smiling damsels, dressed in their best
bib and tucker. Jacky drove proudly

past the crowd to the entrance all un-
conscious of the dispute. When the
gatemen insisted on charging him 75e
extra he regarded it a personal insult
and expostulated volubly with Burch
and Waldrip. The dispute continued
while the crowd outside increased in
size and impatience.

To prevent blocking the gate Jacky
finally told the gateman to pass his
girls on in and he would fix it with
the ticket-sellers. When the rig and
the ladies were safely inside he went
to the ticket office, took off his coat,
hat and watch, and declared his in-
tention of licking the gateman. He
sailed in and in spite of the fact that
the gateman had a cane Jack soon had
him bested. Waldrip called the police-
men but Jack had his fighting blood
up by that time and as the policemen
came running up he backed up to the
fence and knocked down several of them
as they attempted to arrest him. Final-
ly Howard Glassock, a big strapping
fellow who was in the crowd out-
side, shouted "Come on boys, we'll
have to see Jacky thru in this." By
this time the crowd was ready for any-
thing and scores of men eagerly fol-
lowed Glassock 's lead. Charging upon
the gates the farmers tore them off their
hinges but not content with that tore
down sections of the fence and piled it
in a heap. Rallying around Jacky they
defied the management to arrest him
and Glasscock advised Burch and Wal-
drip not to attempt it. They were too
old, he told them, and the atmosphere
wasn't calculated to sweeten the dis-
position of good Methodist deacons.

No further resistance was made, the
gates were not replaced and no more
entrance fees were collected. Jacky

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

107

found himself an unintentional hero.
This was the last day of the fair and it

proved to be the last fair in Attica. The
balloon went up — and so did the fair.

Early Land Prospecting on the Wabash

This story is rather out of place in
the series at this time and should have
been written in connection with articles
telling of the sale and settlement of the
lands in this vicinity, but as it contains
many points of interest to some of
the older families and gives a glimpse
of things as they were at that time I
am going to include it here.

It was thoroly advertised over the
eastern states that the land in the
Crawfordsville District would be opened
to entry on the 24th day of December,
1824. The various expeditions that
portions of the United States army had
made into the Wabash Valley had given
the soldiers an opportunity to see some-
thing of the country which was to be
opened for settlement. Some of the
soldiers had marched with General
Scott, some had marched with Wilkin-
son, some had come with Hamtramck,
and some had come with Harrison and
Hopkins and all gave glowing accounts
of the rich soil and splendid possibilities
awaiting the settler in the Wabash
Valley. These accounts inspired many
persons who intended to take up or
buy land from the Government to make
journeys into the new territory to
locate their claims or the land they
would purchase. In one instance at
least quite a large company of men from
Warren and adjoining counties in Ohio,
left Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio as
Boon as their harvest was over, the

grain stacked and corn laid up, and
came to look over the lands for entry
in the Crawfordsville district. This
was in the autumn of 1824.

Henry Campbell, Steven Covert
Berry Whicker, Alfred Fisher and
several others came into this vicinity
landing in what is now Fountain coun-
ty about the last of August. They
made their headquarters with Enoch
Farmer with whom they were acquaint-
ed and who had squatted on land that
is now the Robert Milligan place.
When Warren county was afterward
organized the first court was held at
the home of Enoch Farmer. He had
the county named Warren for Warren
county, Ohio, from which he had come,
and tried to have the county seat
located on his farm. He laid out a
town which he called Warrenton for
the county seat of Warren county.
While he was privileged to christen the
county he could not overcome the op-
position from Williamsport and the
county seat got away from him. War-
renton never amounted to anything and
the plat was vacated in after years.

This colony of land-seekers had
known Mr. Farmer in Ohio. The four
men that I have named went from Mr.
Farmer's place with a band of Potawa-
tami Indians, Topenibee being the
chief of this tribe at that time.
Among those Indians were some who
were cousins to Alfred Fisher and

108

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Berry Whicker. These Indians were
really Shawnees or Miamis, and when
the Potawatamies came down from the
north they hunted with them, so the
land-seekers joined the Indians' hunt-
ing party and marched from Kickapoo
thru what is now Warren and Benton
counties, making thedr first stop at
Beaver lake. The blue stem grass grew
so high in Benton county that one of
the party rode out a few feet into the
blue stem from the party on the Indian
trail and the rest of the party passed
without seeing him. My grandfather
(Berry Whicker) was riding a large,
strong horse and he could tie the blue
stem over his head, sitting on his
horse, so tall was it in Benton county.
There were a few buffalo, many deer
and a great many wolves in the prairies
of Benton county, and the white men
in this party thought that the prairie
would never be taken up. Alfred Fisher
took up his claim near where Pine
Village is and Henry Campbell took
his claim in the Bethel neighborhood
east of Attica. My grandfather after-
wards came back and settled in the
Bethel neighborhood but did not take
up land at that time.

When they left Beaver lake they went
to Chicago and stayed around Chicago
for a week or more and from Chicago
they started on their home trip, stop-
ping at South Bend. Steven Covert
took land from the government ad-
joining the town of South Bend; soon
afterwards he moved onto this land
and raised his family there.

The woods about Mr. Farmer's place
were filled with timber wolves, panth-
ers and bears. There were a great many
wild turkeys and deer in this locality
and the Wabash river was full of fish.

Henry Campbell and Alfred Fisher
came back in December to Crawfords-
ville and registered their claims and
soon afterward moved on to them. Mr.
Covert moved on to his claim near
South Bend about the same time.

I am of the opinion that Topenibee
and the Indians who were related to
Mr. Covert's wife had something to
do with their locating at this time on
the St. Joseph river, as Topenibee 's
home was Topinabee, on the St. Joseph
river in Michigan. The Shawnee prairie
attracted their attention on account of
its beauty. It was interspersed with
timber, small tracts of prairie and with
a great many ponds of water.

This party spent most of their time
with Mr. Farmer because of the fishing
along the Wabash and the splendid op-
portunity to hunt while they were in
this locality. Mr. Farmer was enthusi-
astic as to the future of the west side
of the Wabash and he thought that
some day the vast prairies of Benton
county would be settled and that their
products would come to some town
along the Wabash to be shipt.

Soon after Henry Campbell settled
in the Bethel neighborhood east of At-
tica many of his friends and relatives
came into that locality. Isaac Waldrip,
a brother-in-law, and later his brother
Jonathan Campbell settled in this neigh-
borhood. John Campbell, another
brother, settled in Jackson township
but his wife and some of his stock died
there of milksiek, and he moved to the
Bethel neighborhood where his brother
and sister had settled. There were only
a few of the party that made the trip
to Chicago and back thru South Bend.
Some of the Birchs and Colverts were
in this party, having come into the

SKETCHES OF THE Yf ABASH VALLEY

109

county the year before. Jesse Birch
took up the land where Watt Morgan
now lives, and his brother took up the
Clayton Todd farm land near Bethel.
The prospectors who made the trip
to Chicago saw no land that they con-
sidered as valuable or desirable as the
Wabash Valley, with the exception of
Covert. On the trip to Chicago there
were a hundred Indians or more in the
party and only a few of the white
people, and the Indians killed what
game they used for food until they
reached Beaver lake. Beaver lake was
at this time a beautiful body of water,
very clear and rather shallow, a deligh-
ful place for the Indians to hunt, fish
and bath. It was one of the principal
camping grounds of the Potawatami
Indians, and with the exception of the
visit with their friends along the Wa-

bash the white men who were with this
party enjoyed the stay at Beaver lake
better than all the rest of the trip.
The Wabash Valley was considered a
long, long way from eastern Ohio,
whether they came down the Ohio to
the Wabash or whether they drove thru
the dense woods and mirey swamps
where they could see the shy deer by
day and hear the scream of the panther
by night. It was a long journey but
the pioneers who had come to take a
look at this promised land went back
with accounts as promising and delight-
ful as did the spies of old, who had
gone into the land of Canaan. They
covild tell the story of the wild grape
growing in profusion, of the wild plums
and berries and the Wabash Valley
impressed all who saw it as a land
flowing with milk and honey.

The Redwood Bandits

Among the first settlers of Warren
county were certain brothers by the
name of High, who came from Penn-
sylvania and were thrifty, industrious
people. One of the brothers, Henry
High, went the farthest out on the
prairie of any settler of his time and
made his home just across the road
east from where the Soul Sleepers
church in Jordan township was after-
ward built. Another brother settled
on Eedwood creek and Isaac lived at
Redwood Point in front of where stands
the house now belonging to John Hunt
on the south side of Redwood. Still
another brother lived farther down
the creek.

The Highs came into Warren county

between 1826 and 1830, took up their
claims from the government and became
well acquainted with all the govern-
ment lands on the prairies north of
Redwood so their homes soon became
the centers for the home-seekers who
came into Warren county from the
East. They were very hospitable and
accommodating and very valuable to
the home-seekers in finding locations
for them, and on account of their
hospitality they soon drew about them
a very extensive acquaintance. Ap-
parently it was not their aim or object-
to become interested in any way in
lawlessness.

Isaac High's oldest son was George
High. He had black eyes, was fully

110

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

six feet tall with a fine physique, and
was an entertaining talker, every way
an interesting individual and leader
of men. Soon among the many settlers
who had learned of the hospitality of
the Highs there came many persons
from the East and the South, who were
criminals running away from the law
of the eastern and southern states.
George High became acquainted with
many of those persons. Some of them
as they came thru would steal horses
in Ohio, Kentucky and other states
and bring them into the Eedwood
neighborhood. Soon George High and
his brothers and sisters became not
only interested in protecting these horse
thieves but George became the leader
of an organized band of horse thieves
and counterfeiters. They would bring
their horses to near Portland, and cross
the river in the neighborhood of Hang-
ing Eock at the mouth of Eedwood.
Eedwood was bordered by a dense
thicket from where it empties into the
Wabash river to the prairie, and if a
horse once got across the river into
the brush of Eedwood the High organi-
zation was able to so secrete him that
he would never be found. This organi-
zation grew until it had ramifications
in almost every state in the East and
South. Some of their members were
on almost every boat that went dowTi
the Ohio or Mississippi rivers. They
had a rendezvous on the Salt Fork of
the Vermilion river and one at Bogus
Island in what is known as the Gifford
swamps in Jasper county. All the
horses were first brought to Eedwood
Point. Some of them were taken from
there to the Salt Fork of Vermilion
and some were taken to Bogus Island.
If they were taken to the Salt Fork

of the Vermilion river they were then
taken to Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska
and sold; if taken to Bogus Island
they were taken to Chicago, Wisconsin
or Michigan and disposed of. All of
the organization carried and dealt in
counterfeit money.

Many farmers in Fountain county
and Montgomery county began early to
deal in fine stock, and among the very
first stock to be improved in this local-
ity was horses. My grandfather. Berry
Whicker, and his wife's uncle, Henry
Campbell, who lived on the John Kerr
place in the Bethel neighborhood, went
to Ohio in 1837 and purchased two
Cleveland bay mares each and a stal-
lion. This horse was a fine animal and
after the death of Henry Campbell this
property passed to his son Henry D.
Campbell. My grandfather and his
uncle, Henry Campbell, employed a
relative of the Campbells by the name
of Owen to take care of their horse.
This horse v/as kept part of the time
at Henry D. Campbell's, a part of the
time at Williamsport and a part of the
time at Eedwood Point. Mr. Owen
came over one time and informed Mr.
Campbell and my grandfather that
the horse was stolen. Henry D. Camp-
bell immediately called together about
one hundred men, rode over to Eedwood
Point, taking Owen along, and demand-
ed the return of this horse. The Highs
saw that the followers of Henry Camp-
bell were in earnest and told him that
on a certain day in the following week
the horse would be in the stable
at Williamsport. Henry D. Campbell
went over to the Williamsport stable
on that day and the horse was there.
Owen soon after took charge of the
Bogus Island rendezvous and he and

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

111

George High became the sworn enemies
of Campbell.

It was several years before they had
further trouble but after the death of
his father and my grandfather Henry
D. Campbell took over all the horses
that both of them had owned; among
them a fine matched gray team of which
Henry became very proud. One night
one of his nephews ran away from
home and stopt at the Campbell home.
He was induced to stay over night and
about 11:00 o'clock, after everyone
else was in bed, Mr. Campbell arose
with the intention of going to the boy 's
home and informing his parents where
he was so that they would not b«
worried about him. As he started to
the barn he saw a light thru the cracks
of the stall where the gray team was
kept. At first he thought the building
was on fire but when he saw the light
move about he knew that thieves were
after the team. Hurrying back to the
house he grabbed up a rifle which he
had borrowed from a neighbor a few
days before to kill a beef, and ran
back to the barn. He had on a white
hat but threw this off as he neared the
barn, so that he could not be seen
in the darkness. He demanded to
know vv'hat the men were doing in the
barn and for answer one of them fired
a revolver at him. The man who fired
had on a white shirt and taking aim
at this Mr. Campbell brought the rifle
into play and the fellow fell to the
ground. Campbell then retreated to the
house from where he watched the other
two men carry the man he had shot
to a buggy waiting in the road and
drive off. The next morning it was
found that they had taken a shovel
from the barn, the general supposition

being that the man was killed and that
they took this along to bury him in
some secluded spot. The barn where
this occurred still stands, on John
Kerr's place, four miles east of Attica.
This occured about 1856.

Owen was never seen or heard of after
this incident but many times after
that shots were fired thru the house
of Campbell. Finally a letter was
pushed under his door informing him
that he would be given sis months in
which to leave the state of Indiana;
that during that six months he would
not be bothered, but that if he was
still at the place where he then lived
he would be killed. They did not care
how far he went or how near, he must
leave the state. Having had all the
trouble he cared to have, Campbell sold
his farm to a Mr. Pyle, father of
Marion Pyle, and moved in 1861 to
Eossville, Illinois, where one of his
daughters still lives. He was sure that
the letter received had come from
George High.

George High owned a very fine black
stallion which he called Truxon, which
was probably the finest horse ever own-
ed by any one in Warren county. He
was very fond of this horse and like
the horses of Arabia this splendid
animal returned his affection. He
would ride Truxon across the prairie
to Bogus Island and over to the ren-
dezvous on the Salt Fork at Vermilion.

Many thousands of dollars of count-
erfeit money was circulated from Eed-
wood Point, the Salt Fork and Bogus
Island; it has even been suspicioned
that some members of this organized
band lived in Attica, and that much
of "the queer" was disposed of here.
Many of the horses too were secreted

112

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

in Attica before being taken to Eed-
wood Point.

Finally Sant Gray, of near Wesley, in
Montgomery County, organized the
Horse Thief Detective Association
whose object and aim was to break
up the horse thieves and counterfeiters
of Eedwood. He kept steadily at work
until he had organizations all over
Fountain, Warren and Montgomery
counties. A store was broken into not
far from Chicago in the spring of the
year, a light snow fell and the trail of
the thieves could be easily followed.
They were trailed to the home of
George High at Eedwood Point, and
some of the goods were found. The
Horse Thief Detective Association was
immediately notified, Mr. Gray took
charge, assisted by Nevel Stephenson, (a
brother of Harry Stephenson) who lived
on the Barnhart place on the Bethel
road just east of Attica, Mr. Helms and
some of the Cronkhites of Warren
county. They arrested George High,
tied him on a horse and started to
Williamsport with him. When they
came to the steep bluff near the Sul-
phur Springs below Williamsport,
George High, by some ruse, managed
to get free from his bonds, leaped off
his horse down the embankment where
a confederate had his splendid stallion,
Truxon, waiting for him, and mounting
his horse he started west. The mem-
bers of the association followed and
the chase was a thrilling one. Out
past his headquarters at Eedwood
High went but did not stop there.
Heading straight for the state line he
soon crossed it. Undaunted his pursuers
followed and clear across the state of
Hlinois the chase continued, with
scarcely a stop for rest. When High

reached the Mississippi river he was
five hours ahead of his pursuers and
Truxon was still so strong that his
master did not hesitate to attempt to
swim him across the great river. He
was seen to enter the river near
Nauvoo, HI., but nobody knows
whether he ever reacht the opposite
shore. This was the last ever seen
or heard of George High.

Upon their return the members of
the Detective Association went to Eed-
wood, called together Dan Claflin, the
brother-in-law of George High, and
some of his brothers and sisters, and
gave them notice to no longer harbor
the horse thieves or counterfeiters.
After this however counterfeit money
continued to be passed and finally minor
depredations were traced to Claflin.
The detective who was pursuing him
shot him thru the hips. Some of the
High family were sent to state 's prison.
Claflin and one of the High girls moved
to Attica and afterwards Claflin moved
on to a farm near Independence where
he lived for many years. Claflin 's
wife was a beautiful girl, with black
eyes and fine features and soon after
they were married they made their home
on the prairies where the town of
Pence now stands.

This organization of counterfeiters
and horse thieves was a great menace
in Fountain, Warren and Montgomery
counties for many years. It was per-
haps not the intent of the Highs at
first to become a part of the organiza-
tion of outlaws but as the profits from
the proceeds of the horses stolen and
the counterfeit money came into their
hands they by degrees became more and
more involved until at last they had
built up an organization of outlaws

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

113

that had its ramifications in many of
the Eastern and Southern states, and
its operations were almost colossal. Some
of the best fortunes now enjoyed in
Fountain and Warren counties had their
foundation in this organization of out-
laws. It has even been suspicioned
that it had never entirely been
broken up but after the capture and
escape of George High and the penal
sentence of his brothers and sisters

there was never the continued opera-
tion of an organization. The breaking
up of this organization is due entirely
to the Horse Thief Detective Associa-
tion and was its first and perhaps
greatest accomplishment. It has since
that time become a national organiza-
tion of great value and has become
so active that lawlessness as known to
our fathers is practically a thing of
the past.

The Stone Quarries, a Local Industry That

Flourished and Died.

The first settlers in this locality were
satisfied with the log cabin but it
was not many years until they began
to have desires for more substantial
dwellings. With the advent of the
up-and-down sawmill operated by water
power, the settlers began building more
substantial houses and barns and their
frame houses and brick houses made
more substantial foundations neces-
sary. Soon they began operating
stone quarries in the various parts of
Fountain,. Warren, Tippecanoe and ad-
joining counties to secure stone for
foundations.

One of the first quarries in the vicin-
ity of Attica was about a mile west
of Eiverside on the Wabash railroad
on land now belonging to Lars Ander-
son, but for many years the home of
Jacob Fix. The site of this stone
quarry is about a mile east of Fix
schoolhouse and it was operated by
Rev. James Killen. Killen was a
Methodist exhorter, and he operated the

stone quarry on a large scale, but his
particular business was making tomb-
stones. In almost every cemetery in
western or northern Indiana there are
tombstones that were made in this
quarry and many of the young men in
the Bethel neighborhood learned to be
stonecutters in Killen 's quarry.

My uncle, Luke Whicker, who was
in the tombstone business in this city
for many years with Harry Brant,
learned his trade in Killen 's quarry,
and became a fine workman. Jonathan
Campbell, who for years had a tomb-
stone shop where Horace Brant's store
now stands, learned his trade in the
same quarry.

Cy Grovenor, who worked at the
various shops in this city before the
Civil war and who died during the war
at Sringfield, Illinois, on his way home,
learned his trade in the Killen quarry,
and Hutchinson Barnett, Mahlon Hall
Pearson and Newlin H. Yount all
worked in this quarry, cutting and

114

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

polishing stone. After the advent of
the canal marble came into use as tomb-
stones and the Killen quarry no longer
could be worked profitably. I helpt my
father to quarry the last stone that
was ever taken out of this quarry for
the foundation of a brick house which
he built about three miles east of
Attica near the Fix schoolhouse. About
the time my uncle, Luke Whicker,
finished his trade Harry Brant and his
brother Theodore began cutting stone
from across the river for tombstones.
They got out their rock near where
the wagon road intersects with the Wil-
liamsport road at the top of the hill
across the river from Attica.

Killen sold his land and quarry to
Dr. Doublebee of West Point and Ed
Mullen, Dr. Doublebee 's son-in-law,
took over the property. After that
the quarry was no longer operated.

My uncle, Luke Whicker, and Hutch-
inson Barnett, began working a stone
quarry on Pine creek near the Shideler
mill and they worked there for many
years until Hutchinson Barnett died.
Newlin Yount worked in this quarry
as long as it was operated, overseeing
the men who took the stone from the
quarry. After the death of Barnett
my uncle formed a partnership with
Harry Brant and then aU the Whick-
ers and all the Brants worked for
many years together, making tomb-
stones in the city of Attica. The firm
was then known as Whicker & Brant
and was a partnership, with Harry
Brant and Luke Whicker owning the
shop. It was located in the room now
occupied by Minniear's barber shop.

When the Wabash and Erie Canal
was built the stone for the aqueducts
and locks and other purposes was quar-

ried in the river bottoms near Gus
Leaf 's place on land belonging now to
Adolph Johnson. The stone taken out
of this quarry was very good quality
of sandstone; in fact, the best sand-
stone that has ever been taken out of
any quarry in this locality. When found
along the canal now it is in as good
state of preservation as when taken
out.

The Wabash railroad for a while used
stone taken from this quarry and later
from a quarry of freestone near Eiver-
side, but the company finally purchased
forty acres of land now popularly
known as Stone Cut and opened up a
large stone quarry. They ran a switch
up the hollow to the quarry and erected
a large boarding house. Lewis Town
was the foreman in taking the stone
out of this quarry and his wife ran
the boarding house which stood just
across the railroad tracks from the
house on the old Town place.

They employed at one time from
seventy-five to one hundred men in
this quarry and all the stone work on
the Wabash railroad for many years
came from this quarry. It was super-
seded by Stinas Barnhart, who first
began contracting in a small way with
the company, and whose honesty and
splendid work won for him a reputa-
tion so that finally the Wabash rail-
road, recognizing his work and his
knowledge of the business, turned their
contracts over to him. He opened up
a stone quarry on the Barnhart place
across the river along the C. & E. I.
tracks. This stone was a sandstone,
not first-class but better than that tak-
en out of Stone Cut, altho not so good
as the stone in the river bottom near
Stone Cut. Mr. Barnhart 's quarry

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

115

was operated until the stone quarry
at Williamsport was opened and op-
erated by W. P. Carmichael and others,
and the Wabash railroad transferred
its business to them. Mr. Carmichael
continued to operate the Williamsport
quarry until the use of stone was
superseded by cement, when he turned
his attention to it and in that connec-
tion took the lead in developing the
gravel business that at this time oc-
cupies the important place among At-
tica industries once held by the stone
quarries.

In 1890 contractors of Lafayette,
realizing the quality of the stone in the
Wabash canal locks that had come from
the quarry in the river bottoms near
Stone Cut, concluded to find that
quarry and operate it. When they
found the quarry they were afraid of
the river, considered the place almost
inaccessible, and began taking out
stone near Riverside. Many buildings
in Danville and Lafayette were con-
structed of this stone. Two companies
operated it, and one of them made
money very fast for a while. There
was one layer of bad stone in its
quarry. Had this stone been thrown
out the company would have continued
in business but on account of using this
stone, which did not last, its managers
ruined the business in this locality.
Of course, cement coming into use would
have affected it and probably put
many of the stone quarries out of bus-
iness but it would still have been used
had the men who operated the quarries
used always the best stone in their
quarries.

In Warren county, north of Black-
rock, was a stone quarry of red sand-
stone. Samuel Martindale built a

residence of this sandstone many years
ago which still stands near Mound
cemetery, six miles northeast of Attica.
The house has been a landmark for
many years, and the stone in it has a
very beautiful color.

There were two stone quarries opened
on Shawnee creek, one of them a red
sandstone and the other a white sand-
stone; the trimmings of the Farmers
& Merchants State Bank building came
from Will Young's place, then known
as Table Rock, and is very beautiful
white sandstone; this was used quite
extensively for a while.

Southwest of Portland (now Foun-
tain) was a quarry of red sandstone
and there were several minor quarries
operated in and around Attica. It
looked for a while as tho the stone
industry would become one of the lead-
ing industries of this locality, and it
may be that the valuable stone of
this locality will yet be utilized. The
last effort made has been to crush
this stone for sand for various pur-
poses where sand is used. There are
large deposits of it along the river.
Pine creek and Big Shawnee. In the
early settlement of the country a stone
quarry was considered a valuable asset
to a piece of land, but in the last few
years it is considered a detriment.

At one time quarrying stone was
the most valuable industry in this lo-
cality and the Killen quarry perhaps
brought more money into this vicinity
than any other one industry up until
the Wabash & Erie Canal was construct-
ed. This canal ruined the Killen
quarry. Perhaps the tombstones made
in the Killen quarry, were distributed
over a larger territory than any other
one product that has ever been taken

116

SKETCHES OP THE WABASH VALLEY

from the soil of this locality excepting
that of the Poston brick plant.

There are some very nice window-
sills, lintels and doorsills in some of
the' old buildings of Attica, and in the
old graveyard some fine old monuments
that were chiseled by skilled hands who
learned to hold the chisel and strike
the mallet with touch exact in the
old stone quarries that were operated
in this locality.

I think perhaps Attica possessed
some of the most skilled men in letter-
ing and designing markers for graves
that there were in the state. In most
of the old graveyards all over Indiana
one can find gravestones that were
made in Attica by the deft hands of
these craftsmen.

I can tell at once who has lettered
the stones that were taken from the
native quarries. I can tell the letter-
ing of the Brants from that of Jonathan
Campbell, and I can tell the lettering
of any stone that my uncle chiseled.
The making of monuments was quite

an industry in Attica for many years.
Brant & Whicker prospered and people
came for many miles to get monuments
from their shop on account of the
artistic sculpture work which surpassed
that of the workmen elsewhere.

Stop some day when you are in the
grave yard and look at some of the
old sandstone monuments and read the
epitaphs. As you read notice the let-
tering and if you have an eye for art
and for sculpture you will perhaps see
what I see in them, the touch of true
craftsmanship and a beauty that sur-
passes most of the lettering on the
granite stones of later years. If we
have gained in durability from the use
of granite we have lost the beauty of
the sculpture in the lettering of the
sandstone.

The stone is still here, it has hardly
been touched, but the men who operated
the quarries have long since gone to
that undiscovered country from whose
bourne no traveler e 're returns.

Social Community Experiments

About the beginning of the 19th cen-
tury both Europe and America began
dealing philosophically with social
problems. Eobert Owen was England's
first socialist, and Frederick Eapp who
had emigrated from Wittenburg, Ger-
many, to Pennsylvania was the first so-
cialist in the United States of America.
The majority of Rapp's followers were
German Lutherans, and located at New
Harmony, Indiana in the year 1814.
Many persons over widely distributed

territory in the United States became
interested in the socialistic movement
of Owen in Scotland and Eapp on the
banks of the Wabash in Indiana.
Among them was a group in Warren
county, Ohio, who concluded to estab-
lish a community. They began their
organization about 1820 and finally de-
cided to locate near Stone Bluff, in
Fountain county. They adopted a con-
stitution for their government and
named their organization "The Coal

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

117

ijCJreek Community and Churcli of God."
In Deed Eecord number 1, page 121, in
the office of the recorder of Fountain
county, Indiana, can be found a copy
of their constitution, but for the pur-
pose of this article, I am interested now
in article 27 thereof, which is as fol-
lows: "This constitution by unani-
mous consent and agreement of every
member who signed the Original Mani-
fest of the Church of God is by unani-
mous consent adopted in lieu of said
Manifest, and all rights, immunities
and benefits held by any member in
the former Church of God, concerning
property of any kind and the means to
promote happiness is and shall be held
by every member as in the principles
contained in this constitution, and the
society formerly known as the 'Church
of God' shall hereafter be known by
the name of the 'Coal Creek Commu-
nity and Church of God.' In Witness
Whereof we hereunto set our hands
and seals this fifteenth day of Decem-
ber, eighteen hundred and twenty-five.
Signed:

JONATHAN CEANE (Seal)

OLIVER OSBORN (Seal)

HAZIAH CEANE (Seal)

MATHIAS DEAN (Seal)

ISAAC ROMINE (Seal)

WILLIAM LUDLOW (Seal)

ELIZABETH EOMINE (Seal)

ANN LUDLOW (Seal)"

The following were also members of
the community: Kaziah Crane, Hulda
Crane, Euth Crane, Hannah Chadwick,
Phoebe Crane, Harry Crane, Chester
Chadwick, Hulda Osborn, Jacob Crane
and Enoch Boling.

On the fourth of February 1832
William Ludlow, one of the members of

the society, filed a complaint in the
Fountain Circuit court in which he says
that sometime in 1823, in the County of
Warren and State of Ohio, he entered
into an agreement with Jonathan
Crane, Mathias Dean, and Enoch Bol-
ing, who were all of them residing in
Warren County, State of Ohio, in which
a constitution was agreed upon to form
a society which was known as "Church
of God" and "Coal Creek Commu-
nity." That their object in forming
such a constitution was to ameliorate
the condition of men by destroying in-
dividual aspirations for wealth, and
establishing a system of equal rights
and privileges upon the principle of the
golden rule; to hold all property, both
real and personal, in common; in short,
to inculcate and foster every principle
calculated to increase the sum of hu-
man happiness, in this world of strife
and conflicting wants. He further
declares that in order to more effectu-
ally increase the operation of the soci-
ety it was agreed that each individual
should furnish whatever money he
could raise for the purpose of purchas-
ing land, which land should never be
held or descended individually. It was
expressed in said constitution, he says,
that not only those who were but those
who might become members, might en-
joy ownership of the property, both
real and personal.

That an application was made to the
United States government for the entry
of land with the request that patents
should be issued according to the mem-
bership and all who should become
members of the society, which was re-
fused by the officers of the land office
on the ground that no corporation
existed and the land must be entered

118

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

in the name of one or more persona.
Individual entry was made of fourteen
tracts of land in the name of Jonathan
Crane, Isaac Eomine, Enoch Boling,
Olive Osborn, and Mathias Dean, on
behalf of said society. The lands thus
entered were situated on Bear and Coal
creeks, in Fountain county, State of
Indiana, in all 1182 acres. Immed-
iately after purchasing the land the
members of said society expressed their
determination to remove to the lands
entered in Fountain county for the pur-
pose of going into practical operation,
in giving their children practical infor-
mation according to agreement. That
the constitution, on account of some
omission was rescinded and a new con-
stitution by unanimous consent adopted,
not changing in the slightest the orig-
inal design of the society but contain-
ing clauses calculated to carry the de-
signs more completely into effect.

Mr. Ludlow further says that he
moved with his family to said lands
with the firm conviction that the orig-
inal agreement would be carried out,
and that his family would be provided
with a comfortable home in which he
could spend a comfortable life, secure
from the buffetings of adversity and
removed from the reach of avarice and
strife.

March 31, 1832, Jonathan Crane and
Olive Osborn filed an answer to this
complaint in which they say that an
association was formed in 1823 as de-
scribed in the complaint, and that the
agreement under which such society
was formed in writing and signed by
the members was called "The Mani-
fest of the Church of God." They set
out the names of some of the signers
and say; "It was expressed in said

manifest that no person should be
considered a member whose debts ex-
ceeded the amount of stock brought by
him into the community, altho he
signed the manifest, and further say
that they do not admit that all mem-
bers of the society were to be entitled
to equal ownership of property, real
and personal, that it was the true in-
tent of the society and so expressed
by the members that members should,
while they continue such, be entitled to
an equal participation of comforts and
benefits with a right when anyone
ceased to be a member to receive back
the property by him advanced in kind,
quantity and quality of its value, and
nothing more unless gratuitously given
by the society, of all property or money
brought into the society by each mem-
ber, which was so kept and the mem-
bers who lived upon the community's
land were to contribute labor and skill
for the common benefit. But it was
contrary to every understanding, prin-
ciple or agreement of the society that
these services should form the basis of
a claim upon any member upon his
withdrawal." They admit the purchase
of the fourteen tracts of land men-
tioned. The entry was made variously
in the names of some or all of the mem-
bers not individually, as charged but
as trustees or members of the said
community, and the answer states that
on January 18, 1830, the complainant,
William Ludlow, pursuant to the pro-
visions in said constitution to that
effect, broke off his connection with
said society and moved to New Har-
mony, with all the male members of
his family, where he remained nearly a
year. The female part of his family in
the meantime were supported out of

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

119

the funds or property of the society-
pursuant to the philanthropy upon
which the constitution was based. On
the return of the complainant, at his
urgent request, it was granted to him
out of pure charity and not as yielding
to any right of his that he might go
upon a portion of the lands of the com-
munity, that since his said withdrawal
he has never according to the constitu-
tion been received as a full member and
has never brought any money or
added stock into the common fund; and
that on October 9, 1830, said Ludlow
by act and decision of community,
being no longer a member, in effect
had tendered to him the amount of
funds by him contributed, which had
not been entirely repaid to him before
concluding his interest; and shows
further that the fifth article of the con-
stitution providing a person ceasing
to be a member should be paid what
he has contributed in kind, quantity,
and value within a certain time after
it is demanded, and they deny that it
is not now nor never was their inten-
tion to enrich themselves by getting
into their hands property of any other
person and deny departure in their
behalf from the true ends of the asso-
ciation and all fraud or conspiracy
among the society or among other per-
sons but show that on the contrary
several members have withdrawn since
the association has been formed, and
have been reimbursed pursuant to the
constitution: That on April 24, 1824,
shortly after the formation of the
society and before the new constitution
and indenture was entered upon the
records of the society signed and sealed
by all the members thereof expression
of a relinquishment of any apparent

individual interest, or title which they
might have in lands by fructuary in-
terest which all the members were in-
tended to have under the manifest and
which deed or indenture was made in
accordance with said manifest and its
true intent explained by the constitu-
tion afterwards adopted. The community
and equality of interests in the property
of the members and not the ownership,
the economy and mode of operation of
the labor, and thereafter it was ex-
pressly provided what each should be
entitled to upon his withdrawal.

A separate answer made by Enoch
Boling on same day sets up the same
facts and further says that on the 15th
of June 1827 he formally withdrew
from said community and received what
he had advanced to his satisfaction,
and that he received the north-east
quarter of section 26, town 20 N. range
8 west and has no further connection
with said society. He states further
that to some of the defendants the con-
stitution has been a continual expense,
while others derived more than their
share of benefits from the society.

In 1850 Isaac Eomine, who had been
a member of the society, associated
himself with John Wattles, Esther
Wattles, A. L. Childs, Alvin High,
Thomas Scott, George Brier, John Gass,
Washington Waltz, Lucy Waltz, Leroy
Templeton and Edgar Eyan and organ-
ized the Grand Prairie Harmonial As-
sociation. Mr. Eomine had been a
member of the Coal Creek Community
and Church of God in Fountain county,
and still thinking that such a commun-
ity might be successfully conducted
to the advantage of its members and
to society in general donated two thous-
and dollars in trust for the use of this

120

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

association and placed it in the hands
of John Wattles to be by him expended
in the purchase of real estate, and in
the erection of buildings, and after such
purposes and labor the whole to be
deeded to the trustees to be held in
trust by them for the uses specified in
the constitution and by-laws; and it
was provided that all property like that
of the Fountain County Community of
which Mr. Eomine had been a member,
should be held in common, controlled
by a board of trustees, and that conduct
and labor should be regulated by con-
stitution and by-laws.

The following is a copy of the deed
of the trustees of the Warren county
society:

Know all men by these presents, that
we, John O. Wattles and Esther Wat-
tles his wife, of Tippecanoe county,
State of Indiana, in consideration of
the premises and one dollar to them in
hand paid, the receipt whereof is here-
by acknowledged, do hereby give,
grant, convey, bargain and sell, to
Horace Greeley, of New York, Thomas
Trusdale, of Brooklyn, N. Y., Edgar
Eyan, Charles High and James E. N.
Bryant, of Warren county, Indiana,
trustees, and to their heirs and assigns
the following real estate to-wit: The
north-east quarter of section 5, town-
ship 23 north, range 9 west, contain-
ing one hundred sixty acres more or
less; also the north-west quarter of the
south-east quarter of said section, con-
taining forty acres more or less, also
the east three-fourths of the south-west
quarter of the south-east quarter of
the same section, containing thirty
acres more or less; also the north-east
quarter of the south-east quarter and
the east half of the south-west quarter

and the east half of the north-west
quarter of the north-east quarter of
section 8, in the aforesaid township and
range, containing 120 acres more or
less, amounting in all to 350 acres more
or less, together with all the privileges
and appurtenances thereunto belonging,
to have and to hold unto the said
Greeley, Trusdale, Eyan, High and Bry-
ant and their heirs and assigns forever
in trust to and for the uses named viz.:
For the occupation of an association
for educational and social reform pur-
poses.

In a short history of Warren county
it is said that among the promoters of
this scheme were Carpenter Morey,
who donated two thousand dollars, and
Isaac Eomine, who also aided with a
considerable gift, giving two thousand
dollars or more. Two buildings were
erected, fences and other improvements
made and at one time it seemed that
the question of cooperative education
and labor would be fairly tested. The
land was open prairie and lumber to
erect the buildings was hauled from a
saw-mill near West Point. The plan was
countenanced and its projectors encour-
aged by such men as Eobert Dale Owen
Eobert Brisban, and other advanced
thinkers. Dr. Childs, a finely educated
and talented man, was brought from
the East and placed in charge of the
school, but the people in the vicinity
looked upon the whole plan with dis-
trust, and after a few years the school
was abandoned for lack of money and
pupils. The enterjirise is more notable
for the character of the men that were
engaged in it however than the success
or failure which followed the effort. It
had its inception during the period
when social reforms were agitating peo-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

121

pie to a very considerable degree.

Harry Evans, superintendent of the
Warren county schools, had an article
on the Grand Prairie Harmonial In-
stitute in the Indiana Magazine of
History for December 1916 which I
give here in full:

"In 1851 a company of people who
felt that their best interests could be
better served by a community form of
living, organized 'The Grand Prairie
Harmonial Institute or, as it was gen-
erally known 'The Community Farm.'
This was located in Prairie township,
Warren county, Indiana, where Wil-
liam Goodacre now lives. This farm at
one time comprised about three hun-
dred fifty acres. It was the intention
of the founders of the institution to
teach handicraft, especially black-
smithing, carpentry and allied trades,
and to allow students to work their
way thru school.

' ' The country was entirely new,
much of the soil was still covered with
the native verdure; game was plenti-
ful, deer, geese, ducks, cranes and
prairie chickens could be seen in great
numbers at almost any season of the
year. Their attempt at this distance,
eeems unique. An unimproved country
where there was little need of skilled
labor was to become the seat of an in-
stitution of learning where the pupils
were to be taught various trades. To
us it seems that such an attempt was
the limit of the visionary. The Trans-
cendentalists at the Brook Farm in
Massachusetts and the Owen experi-
ment at New Harmony seem now to
have been as vague as this little colony
set down in the midst of a vast prairie
country with no neighbors and no de-
mand for their work.

"The first president and one of the
moving spirits in the enterprise was
John O. Wattles, a man who had a
more than ordinary education and who
had spent some time at New Harmony,
where he may have imbided some of
the communistic ideas of the Owens.
The Wattles family consisted of Mr.
and Mrs. Wattles and their three
daughters, Lucretia, Harmonia, and
Pheano (or Theanna as it was spelled
in a deed). Lucretia was born at 'Fry-
back Hall' an institution similar to the
Harmonial Institute and located in Pine
township, a few miles east of the
'Community Farm.' She had a right
to such a name, for her mother had
traveled all day in the rough convey-
ance of that time, and had reached
'Fryback Hall' in the evening. That
night (during a most severe storm, the
little one made her entrance into the
world about two o'clock.

"Horace Greeley was said to have
been a silent member of that Grand
Prairie Harmonial Institute company,
one deed showing him to be a trustee.
John Gass, father of Will Gass, formerly
of Attica, was another prominent
member and at one time the treasurer.
Alvin High, Cyrus Eomine and a num-
ber of others were connected with the
movement. The school was managed
by a board of trustees, of whom Ida
Greeley, Thomas Truesdale, Alvin High
and John Gass were the last to hold
office. For a time a number of families
seemed to have lived a communal
life, but, like all such experiments, it
failed. While the race is gregarious,
there must be a certain amount of riv-
alry to make life a success. We seem
to need the stimulus of competition to
spur us on to do the best that is in

122

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

us. Whatever the cause of failure in
this experiment of community livings
it lasted little more than a year.

' ' The property remained in the hands
of the trustees for nearly twenty years,
when an order from the United States
Dictrict Court for Indiana gave posses-
sion of the land to Mrs. Wattles. The
family had been away for some time,
going to Kansas, where Mr. Wattles
had again tried to carry out his favorite
idea of communial living. After his
death, which occurred about the begin-
ning of the Civil war, his widow, de-
siring to educate her children, moved
to Oberlin, Ohio, where she placed
them in the college at that place. La-
ter she sold to Isaac C. Anderson and
James McDaniel the land that the court
had decreed to her and thus ended
another altruistic experiment.

"For years the 'Community House'
was a noted landmark. Its site on the
top of what was the highest ridge of
land anywhere near made it conspic-
uous. Then there is always a sort of
charm and at least a little air of mys-
tery about such a place. Fancy may
build golden dreams of higher forms of
life where competition shall be forever
banished, rivalry unknown and the
Golden Eule the measure of our ac-
tions."

As a matter of fact the leading per-
son in the founding of the Grand
Prairie Harmonial Institute was Isaac
Eomine, who had been a member of the
Fountain county association. His
friend, Eobert Dale Owen, of New Har-
mony, was perhaps instrumental in in-
teresting John O. Wattles, of Tippeca-
noe county, (with whom he had be-
come acquainted while Mr. Wattles was
living in New Harmony), Col. James K.

Bryant, of Williamsport, and Horace j
Greeley, of New York. William Lud-
low, of the Fountain county association,
and the male members of his family ;
had spent a whole year at New Har-
mony with the Owen community, and;
Eobert Dale Owen was an occasional
visitor at the homes of the Eomines
and Cranes in Stone Bluff as well as at
the home of Bryant, Park Hunter, Dr.
Clark and Mr. Gass in Warren county,
so that there was a bond of friendship
which united the New Harmony colony
of socialists with the socialistic move-
ment in Fountain and Warren counties,
which I have been more interested in
showing in this article than anything
else. !

When in 1851 Indiana as a state had]
decided to adopt a new constitution, i
those people with socialistic views from |
Fountain and Warren counties who I
would be favorable to the cause and j
who would support Eobert Dale Owen as
a leader in the convention backed the
candidacy of Colonel James E.
Bryant as the delegate from this dis-
trict, to which position he was elected, i
That Mr. Bryant was a man of more j
than ordinary ability and local rej u-
tation is shown clearly in the fact
that he was held in high esteem by
Judge David Davis and Abraham Lin-
coln. Whitney says in his life of
Lincoln:

"Judge Davis often delegated his j
judicial functions to others. I have
known of his getting Moon, of Clinton,
to hold court for him in Bloomingon
for whole days; Lincoln to hold an en-
tire term, and frequently to sit for
short times; and I even knew of Col.
Bryant of Indiana, to hold court for
him at Danville."

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

123

It was perliaps due more to the lib-
eral views of Col. Bryant and Robert
Dale Owen than to any other cause
that our state constitution has endured
so long. It is a signiiicant fact that
Robert Dale Owen and the New Har-
mony colony became spiritualists, as
did the founders of the socialist com-
munity in Fountain county and the
' ' Community Farm ' ' in Warren county.
The Church of Progressive Friends in
Shawnee township and the "Free Hall"
at Carbondale in Warren county were
built by the same people with the same
community interest. The old sawmill
and gristmill at Stone Bluff, as well
as m-any of the old barns and houses
in that portion of Shawnee township,
were constructed by the communistic
society in Fountain county.

After Robert Owen, the father of
Robert Dale Owen, purchased the inter-
est of the Sappites of New Harmony
for one hundred fifty thousand dollars
the Rappites moved out and the Owen-
ites moved in. Mr. Owen went back to
England and sent back three hundred
of his people, including Robert Dale
Owen, then twenty-five years old. He
was a philosopher and not an econo-
mist, and did not inherit the business
(jualifications of his father. Elbert
Hubbard wrote of the New Harmony
colony:

"For the first few weeks, all entered
into the new system with a will. Ser-
vice was the order- of the day. Men
who seldom or never before labored
with their hands, devoted themselves
to agriculture and the mechanical arts
with a zeal which was at least commen-
dable, tho not ahvays well directed.
Ministers of the gospel, guided the plow
and called swine to their corn instead

of sinners to repentance, and let pa-
tience have her perfect work over an
unruly yoke of oxen. Merchants ex-
changed the yardstick for the rake or
pitchfork, and all appeared to labor
cheerfully for the common weal. Among
the women there was even more appar-
ent seif-sacriiice. Those who had sel-
dom seen inside of their kitchens went
into that of the common eating house
and made themselves useful among pots
and kettles. Refined young ladies who
had been waited upon all their lives
took turns waiting upon others at the
table. And several times a week all
those who chose mingled in the social
dance in the great dining hall.

"But notwithstanding the apparent
heartiness and cordiality of this aus-
picious opening, it was in the social
atmosphere of the community that the
first cloud arose. Self-love was a spirit
which could not be exorcised. It whis-
pered to the lowly maidens, whose form-
er position in society had cultivated the
spirit of meekness — 'you are as good as
the formerly rich and fortunate, insist
upon your equality.' It reminded the
former favorites of society of their
lost superiority, and despite all rules
tinctured their words and actions with
'airs' and conceit. Similar thoughts
and feelings soon arose among the men;
and tho not so soon exhibited they were
never-the-less deep and strong. Suffice
it to say, that at the end of three
mcntlis the leading minds of the com-
munity were compelled to acknowledge
to each other that the social life of the
community could not be bounded by a
single circle. They therefore acquiesed,
tho reluctantly, in its division into
many. But they hoped, and many of
them no doubt believed, that tho social

124

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

equality was a failure, community of
property was not. Whether the law of
mine and thine is natural or incidental
in human character, it soon began to
develope its sway. The industrious, the
skillful and the strong saw the prod-
uct of their labor enjoyed by the in-
dolent, the unskilled and the improvi-
dent and self love rose against benevol-
ence. A band of musicians thought
their brassy harmony was as necessary
to the common happiness as bread and
meat, and declined to enter the harvest
field or the work-shop. A lecturer upon
natural science insisted upon talking
while the others worked. Mechanics,
whose single day's labor brought two
dollars in the common stock, insisted
that they should only work half as long
as the agriculturist whose day's work
brought but one.

"Of course for awhile, these jealous-
ies were concealed, but soon they began
to be expressed. It was useless to re-
mind all parties that the common labor
of all ministered to the prosperity of
the community. Individual happiness
was the law of nature and it could not
be obliterated. And before a single
year had passed, this law had scattered
the members of that society which had
come together so earnestly and under
such favorable circumstances and driven
them back into the selfish world from
v/hich they came."

The writer of this sketch has since
heard the history of that eventful year
reviewed with honesty and earnestness
by the best men and most intelligent
parties of that unfortunate social ex-
periment. They admitted the favorable
circumstances which surrounded the
commencement; the intelligence, devo-
tion and earnestness that was brought

to the cause by its projectors and its
final total failure. And they rested
ever after in the belief that man tho
disposed to philanthropy, is essentially
selfish and a community of social equal-
ity and common property an impossi-
bility.

Eobert Dale Owen became a natural-
ized citizen "of the United States and for
several years was a member of Congress.
At the time of the death of his father
he was minister to Italy, having been
appointed by President Pierce. At the
time he was in Wales, and announced
the passing of Eobert Owen to the fam-
ily at New Harmony, Indiana, in a let-
ler dated Nov. 17, 1858.

The Eappites located in New Har-
mony in 1814 and sold to Eobert Owen
in 1825 so they remained in Indiana
eleven years. The Coal Creek Commun-
ity in Fountain county bought its land
and came to this county in 1823 and
continued as a socialistic community
about ten years. The Owen community
lasted only about one year in New Har-
mony when Eobert Owen divided his
holdings among his children and im-
mediate relatives and, as he said, a
few of his "staunch friends who have
such a lavish and unwise faith in my
wisdom."

The ' ' Community Farm ' ' in Warren
county also was short lived, lasting less
than two years. Those reformers failed
to see that the second generation of
communists did not coalesce and as a
result that thirty-three years was the
age limit for even a successful commun-
ity; and that if it still survived it was
because it was organized under a strong
and dominant leadership. All of these
socialistic communities are made up of
two classes, those who wish to give,

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

125

and those who wish to get, and in-as-
much as they have usually been com-
posed of about seventy-five percent of

those who wish to get and a very
small percent of those who wish to
give they have failed.

A Mormon Visitation

In a preceding sketch of this series
I have told at some length of the un-
usual religious spirit in the territory
east of Attica, of the important part
it had in the growth of this section,
and of the numerous men of ability
that it produced. Because of its strong
religious character it was frequently
the scene of efforts at proselyting. One
of these is notable because of the prom-
inence of the leader, who was no less
than Joseph Smith, the founder of
Mormonism itself. His visitation to
this section occurred in the thirties,
when the church was but a few years
old, and it is a fact, tho not generally
known, that many men that afterwards
became prominent in the organization
were gathered from the Wabash Valley.

The Mormon Church — or, as it is of-
ficially known. The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints — was in
stituted by Joseph Smith, Jr. at Fay-
ette, Seneca county, N. Y., in 1830. On
account of persecution in that vicinity
the Mormons began to move westward
and within the year they began to lo-
cate in Jackson county, Missouri. That
county was extremely Democratic and
the Mormons did not believe in human
slavery. The Democracy of Missouri
would not tolerate any religion that
would not openly advocate the cause of
negro slavery, and in 1833, for no other
reason, they drove these new immigrants
from their midst. Some of them stopt

in Clay county for awhile but in 1838
Governor Boggs of Missouri, a very
earnest advocate of negro slavery, is-
sued an order of expulsion against
them.

During this troublous period Smith
made numerous missionary journeys in-
to the older settled district and on one
of these came into this section. He was
accompanied by Sidney Eigdon, one of
his influential followers, and they held
meetings in many sections of Fountain
and Vermilion counties. On this jour-
ney they got many converts, some of
them from among the best of those
sturdy old pioneer families. They made
many converts in Troy, Wabash and
Fulton townships and in Davis town-
ship. It was in the meetings in Davis
that Joseph Smith made his strongest
efforts.

This series of meetings was held in
a schoolhouse that stood just back of
where Salem church now stands in what
is now the Salem cemetery. There
Smith and Eigdon held forth for some
time and lined up about fifty followers,
about thirty of whom went with them
to Missouri. Andrew Wilson was one
of these converts but he did not leave
Fountain county. Samuel Trollinger
was another. The latter owned about
a thousand acres of land comprising
the old James Williams farm, and the
Washburn farm now belonging to John
T. Nixon and counted among the best

126

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

tracts of land in the county. Others
were Simeon and Joseph Curtis, and
two families of Harriers, all of them
respectable citizens and well-to-do.
Three young men named Lancaster
were also among those who espoused
the Mormon faith. Samuel Trollinger
and Simeon Curtis became Mormon eld-
ers and engaged in the ministry, and
went thru all the persecutions visited
upon the sect in Missouri and Illinois.

While the Davis township meetings
were in progress an incident occurred
that caused much comment thruout the
vicinity and possibly had some effect
in weakening the influence of the new
sect. A man named Dolyhide lived
about a mile from the place where the
meetings were being held. He was
badly crippled with rheumatism, his
limbs being drawn and twisted from
the effects of the disease. The Mormons
preacht faith healing by the laying on
of hands, the gift of tongues, the unc-
tion of the Holy Spirit and other things
preacht and practised by the early
Christian church, just as many other
Christian denominations still do. Doly-
hide was taken to the meeting, pro-
fessed convertion and was baptised as
a Mormon. The preachers laid hands
on him and held a prayer service for
him but Dolyhide was not cured, per-
haps not much benefited. Those who
were opposed to Mormonism seized up-
on this incident and it has been handed
down in local history as the principal
reason why the Mormon influence waned
in that community. This is hardly just
to the Mormons for if they are to be
condemned for failure to receive an-
swer to their prayers surely the same
rule should be applied to every other
denomination.

After the Mormons were expelled
from Missouri they crossed back into
niinois and founded the city of Nau-
voo, over which Smith had extraordin-
ary civil and ecclesiastical authority,
very much like that a Fountain
county man, Wilbur Glenn Voliva, now
exercises over Zion City in northern
Illinois. It was to Nauvoo that the
converts from this vicinity went and
by 1840 it is said that in the neighbor-
hood of three hundred from the Wabash
Valley had joined the colony, at least
fifty of these being from Davis town-
ship.

The city of Nauvoo flourished and
soon there were more than two thous-
and houses and there was under con-
struction a beautiful temple built along
the plans that Smith claimed had been
given him in a vision in 1844. A dis-
contented member of the church issued
a newspaper at Nauvoo assailing the
prophet and threatening to expose al-
leged immoralities and misdeeds. The
City Council passed an ordinance de-
claring the printing ofl&ce a nuisance
and it was destroyed by officers of the
law. Smith was blamed for this and a
warrant was issued for his arrest. He
was taken to Carthage and on June 27,
1844 a mob, including members of
other Christian denominations, attacked
the jail, over-powered the guards, killed
Smith and his brother Hiram and
wounded several others. So-called
Christians for nineteen hundred years
have put to death and tortured by
every known means those who did not
believe as they believed even tho they
all professed to be following the teach-
ings of the same Christ.

After the death of Smith Brigham
Young became the head of the Mor-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

127

mons and he was a man of great ex-
ecutive ability.

In the winter of 1846 Nauvoo was
again attaekt by those who loved the
Lord more than their fellow men and
the Mormons were driven out. Even
women and children were driven from
their homes in the dead of winter and
were forced to cross the Mississippi
river on the ice. Many of the men were
killed in defense of their families. They
went from Nauvoo to Council Bluffs,
Iowa and from there to Salt Lake City.

Wilford Woodruff, fourth president
of the Mormon church and the man
whose manifesto abolisht polygamy
among the Saints, was related to the
Woodruffs in Davis township. The
three Lancaster brothers and many
others that joined the church in Davis
township, became prominent in the
work and extension of the Mormon
church.

After they reached Salt Lake many
missionaries were sent to various parts
of the world and their growth has been
steady. When they moved to Salt Lake
City they moved out of the United

States and into old Mexico and they
adopted polygamy under the Mexican
government. After the Mexican war
the border lines of the United States
were extended southward and they
found themselves again residents of the
United States. The church claims a
membership of over three hundred
thousand and has flourishing communi-
ties in other countries besides the Unit-
ed States. Among their missionaries
and most active members often appear
the names of families who joined them
while Joseph Smith was proselyting in
Vermilion and Fountain counties in +he
Wabash Valley.

I am not a Mormon, neither do I be-
lieve in polygamy, but I do believe that
we should all be tolerant. The story of
the Mormons, no difference how black
it may be, cannot be lookt at from any
angle that it is not more beautiful than
the story of the persecutions that were
inflicted on those people by those who
disagreed with them in religion in ev-
ery community in which they have
lived.

The Clark Family

About the year 1700 Samuel Clark of
Scotch-Irish descent, emigrated from
England or Scotland to America, and
settled on the eastern coast of the
northern part of the Carolinas. He
had six sons — Samuel, Thomas, Wil-
liam, James, John and Henry. The
youngest son, Henry, was born in 1713,
died March 30, 1797 and was buried in
the family cemetery near Page 's Mills,
Dillon county, South Carolina. He was

the only member of the family that re-
mained in the county where his father
settled. This Henry Clark was an un-
cle of George Eogers Clark of Eevolu-
tionary fame, and of William Clark,
who with Captain Merriweather Lewis,
explored the North-west Territory,
lying between the Mississippi river and
the Pacific ocean. Henry Clark had a
family of four sons and five daughters.
His daughter Hester married John C.

128

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Campbell, whose children settled in the
Bethel neighborhood, and around Pine
Village. One of the daughters married
a Benson, the common ancestor of the
Bensons in Warren and Fountain
counties, and one of the girls married a
Birch, whose deeendeuts also settled in
Fountain and Warren counties. One
of Henry Clark's sons settled in War-
ren county, Ohio, and one at Clarks-
burg, Eoss county, Ohio.

One of Henry Clark's brothers set-
tled in Pennsylvania and moved from
there to Clarksburg, Ohio. In 1824,
when the land was being taken up in
this part of Indiana, many of the de-
scendents of these two brothers came
into Fountain and Warren counties,
and about twenty years ago, the fami-
lies in these three counties related to
the Clarks comprised perhaps the
largest relationship in western Indiana.

I shall now present the history of
Judge Samuel B. Clark, as compiled by
his son, Samuel Clark, and grandson,
Orrie S. Clark, of Attica.

Samuel B. Clark was the son of John
and Mary Blair Clark, the fifth of a
family of ten brothers and one sister,
and was born in Bedford county. Pa.,
April 27, 1794. He married Elizabeth
Bready on June 5, 1813.

To this union was born four sons and
five daughters — Mary Ann, born April
18, 1819; Saraline, Sept. 22, 1820;
Elizabeth, Sept., 22, 1821; John Wesley,
Aug. 27, 1824; Mariah, Nov. 31, 1828;
Samuel, Dec. 6, 1830; Thos. A., June 5,
1834; Miranda, Feb. 5, 1837 and An-
drew Jackson, June 25, 1842.

The following extracts were taken
from a book of Old Settler's Eeminis-
cences published by Sanford Cox in
1860. This work is considered reliable

and at the outset gives a good idea of
the conditions in Warren, Fountain and
other counties. These extracts will
have to do with brief mentionings con-
cerning Samuel B. Clark.

Mr. Cox, in writing of Peter Weaver,
the first settler of Fountain county,
who located near Flint on the east
side of the Wabash river, says that
"near Weaver lived Lewis Thomas et
al — they all owned and worked land
on the lower end of the beautiful
and fertile Wea Plains. Southwest of
this neighborhood near Clark's Point,
now Pin Hook, resided Samuel Clark."

It was thought by early investigation
that Clark's Point and Clark's Prairie
was the first place that Samuel B. Clark
resided and that these places were
named for him but later investigation
leads to the belief that there were two
Samuel Clarks in this part of the
country and that the one at Clark's
Point came a little before Samuel B.
There is no question now but what Sam-
uel B. Clark located at a south point of
the Wea Plains, on or near the Wabash
river on the east side, first. This place
is situated in Tippecanoe county, the
south-west portion. This last fact is
borne out by a statement lately by John
C. Goodwine and referred to hereafter,
wherein he says that the place where
Samuel B. Clark lived was pointed out
to him from the train on what is now
the Wabash railway. This site is easily
seen from the train while Clark 's Point
is a considerable distance from the rail-
road and can not be seen. After resid-
ing at this place for some time he was
attacked by a yearning for city life. At
that time there was considerable rivalry
among the towns starting up and he was
solicited to cast his lot with Indepen-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

129

denee, Maysville and others, but the ad-
vantages of LaGrange appealed to him
the most. This town was started at a
point opposite where he was at that
time living and was located on the west
bank of the Wabash river, so he did not
have far to move. When he was com-
fortably located he built a ferry boat
and engaged in the ferrying business.
Here was where all of his children were
born except the three that he brought
from Ohio with him and this is the
place called "Whitelick" by Mary
Boggs, his daughter.

Cox says again: "At this time a Po-
lemic society was organized, which was
strongly attended by debaters from
Weaver's neighborhood, east of the riv-
er, Judge Samuel B. Clark's neighbor-
hood on the river below, and the Mace,
Davis and Fenton neighborhoods in
Warren county." Cox also says: "At
this time Warren county was thinly set-
tled. Zachariah Cicott, a French tr.-^.der,
was born at the place where he lived
(near where the town of Independence
now stands) more than forty years be-
fore the organization of the county.
Above Cicott 's was Judge Samuel B.
Clark, Fentons et al, together with Ed
Mace (father of Dan Mace, who after-
wards was congressman from this dis-
trict)."

The records show that Samuel B.
Clark entered some land in Fountain
county before he went across the river
to LaGrange to live but the facts show
that he did not prove up on the right
land and that when he found that he
was settling on the wrong land he im-
mediately moved across the river to
LaGrange, and dissipitated in the giddy
whirl of city life.
f A most interesting part of Samuel B.

Clark's life is gleaned from notes as
made by his son Samuel Clark, and re-
lates to doings from the time of his em-
igration from Ohio, and his residence
at Independence, to his last place of
residence. He writes: "The Centen-
nial year (1876) is passing away with
the rapidity of time and as I have
not heard or read of the histories of
any old settlers yet, it occurred to me
that a short sketch of my family, which
was one of the first to settle on the Wa-
bash river, might not only be appro-
priate but interesting to the younger
generation who have little idea of the
hardships their ancestors had to endure
while developing the western country.
Fifty years ago the writer's parents
(Samuel B. and Elizabeth Bready Clark)
settled in Indiana. They moved from
Eoss county, Ohio, in the year 1826. My
parents were poor, they had no property
at their command but they started for
the West. They had two horses, one
blind, and one wagon. They had three
children, very small, but they loaded up
their traps and started for Indiana, the
land said to be flowing with milk and
honey, full of hope, happiness and con-
tentment. The country being new of
course the roads were very bad at times
and that made traveling tedious and
slow, with but very few settlers along
the road to cheer them up. Arriving at
the White Water Swamps, about seven-
ty-five miles from their destination, the
horse with the good eyes died. They
were away from any settlements and
were surrounded with mud and water.
Such a calamity can hardly be realized
or understood. It necessitated the
abandoning of the wagon and all of
their household goods and bedding, the
former consisting of a few pans and

130

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

kettles. How to carry the three child-
ren on one horse was the problem to
consider. Necessity generally solves the
problem and they decided to sew up the
bed tick and put a baby in each end,
with its head sticking up thru a hole.
The mother was placed on the horse and
the other baby on her lap, Father lead-
ing the old blind horse. With this val-
uable load they again started for the
Wabash Valley. After many days of
rough riding they finally arrived above
Independence, on the east side of the
Wabash river. Father, while living at
Independence, (he does not mention any
part of their life while living on the
east side of the river or at LaGrange)
after building his cabin, traded with
the Indians and paddled up and down
the river, trading with settlers. The
only provision for some time was wild
honey, a little grain and hominy. Many
times the cabin would have dozens of
Indians in it, when there would be no
one there but Mother and the children.
They were friendly in a way, but not
very desirable guests. Mary, my oldest
sister, has told me she and the other
children had understood that Indians
did not like red-haired children and for
that reason she and the other children
went under the bed when the Indians
came. Mary told me also that when
I was a very small baby I drank some
lye and one of the Indians went into
the woods and presently returned with
some kind of root herb and give it to
me as an antidote. It cured me very
quickly. She also told me that while
the Indians were friendly enough there
were times when they got very insistent
for food and Mother had to fre-
quently give them almost everything
that was in the house to keep them

peaceable. Father started a small store
in Independence, his customers being
mostly Indians. While thus engaged he
was elected to the legislature in the
year 1836 and voted for the bill creat- ,
ing an improvement fund for building j
the Wabash and Erie Canal and other i
improvements. He was one of the first
Associate Judges of Warren county, and '
he set the stakes for the second court
house in Williamsport, the county seat.

"In 1838 Father bundled us togeth-
er on a keel-boat and we floated down
the Wabash river, finally locating in |
Arkansas. He bought property there, j
I think some place on the Eed river, \
built a grist mill on a dry creek, but
found out after it was too late, that |
it was not a grain country, and conse-
quently there was no grain to grind. He
sold out at considerable loss and in 1841 :
started back for old Indiana. Mary,
my sister, has told me that she and her ,
brother John walked most of the way. |
At last we landed in Warren county '
with two yokes of oxen, a wagon, and i
a little money. Here, by common con-
sent, we settled down for life, as we j
thought. Father bought a farm of 240
acres for $1500 located near Free Hall, |
in later years known as Carbondale. " i

This land is included in the George ,
Butler estate and the Clark residence ''
lies about a quarter of a mile directly
east of the Butler home. This land was
underlaid with coal along Fall creek, )
and from reliable information it is i
mentioned that the boys would at times
dig coal and sell it, and upon a discus- ;
sion as to the advisability of renting ;
the coal lands to some operator it was i
decided best not to do so, altho it was .
possible that by opening it up on an j
extensive scale, it might make the '

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

131

lands worth more money in case of
sale. Since that early time there have
been one or two fairly good mines in
operation and drilling shows rather a
large territory in that vicinity under-
laid with a good vein of block coal.
I "By this time our family consisted of
nine children, five girls and four boys.
Father getting along in years had us
boys take the farm and make what we
could off of it. The farm had about
100 acres of tillable land, and we rnn
it a few years, with all the energy we
possessed and succeeded in raising only
enough grain to bread the family, while
our sisters earned enough by weaving
to buy the groceries, butter, lard etc.
We were a manufacturing family; that
is, the girls were. They made the
cloth, carpets and flannels for people
for twenty-five miles around. They
ran the looms steadily, the younger
children preparing the yarn. This vast
amount of weaving was taken up in
butter, lard and meat and our family
furnished a ready market for all the
surplus provisions in the neighborhood.
"In 1850 my older brother John, and
myself, had one horse apiece to show
for our several years ' work on the farm
and we decided to rent the place to
someone else and start for the gold
fields of California. ' '

Mr. Clark does not mention who
were in this party but from letters and
other information it is known that his
father, Samuel B. Clark, his brother
John, his brother-in-law, Samuel Hunt-
er, and E. C. Moore comprised this
party. From letters and other evi-
dence it is sho^vn that Samuel Hunter
became homesick after getting to the
mines and as soon as he had enough
saved to undertake the journey, started

home by way of New Orleans. When
he got up into Louisiana he took sick
with what they thought was the chol-
era and died December 31, 1850, among
strangers. His grand-daughter, Edna
Hunter, was born in Attica, Ind., and
has become a noted motion picture
actress.

' ' We went overland to California and
endured many hardships. The Indians
were very bad and we had several
brushes with them. We remained in
the mines for a time at a place that
is now known as Sacramento, at the
forks of the American river. After
having gathered quite a little gold
dust we returned home, my brother
and myself having about $1,000 each in
dust. After we got home we were
considered in the wealthy class. Hav-
ing that amount of gold, we were
placed, financially, ahead of any of
the other young men of the vicinity.
The family had done as well without
us as with us, in our absence and in
the course of events some married
and some died. Four died shortly after,
including Father and Mother. It oc-
curs to me that there are or were few
families that had the varied exper-
iences and saw as much of this great
county of ours as did the family of
my father, Samuel B. Clark."

In verification of his traveling na-
ture it has been told in a letter found
among Samuel Clark's papers that
Judge Samuel B. Clark, living in In-
diana at that time, after his brother
Thomas B. Clark emigrated to Texas,
concluded to pay him a visit, and he
and his wife started for Grimes county,
that state. How they went or what
year they started is not stated — pre-
sumably they went on horseback. Af-

132

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

ter they finished their visit they re-
turned with just one horse, so the ac-
count says. This must have been a
difficult and hazardous journey, going
thru vast wildernesses and encounter-
ing many wild tribes of Indians. As
another illustration of his adventurous
spirit, Abe Clawson, who is still living
(1917) at Independence, Indiana, tells
of his trip to the gold fields of Pike's
Peak in 1859 and while on the way
overtook a party from Indiana at Coun-
cil Bluffs, Iowa. Among the party he
tells of an old man being present and
who was a stalwart and strong in-
dividual and he observed that he al-
ways went around with his sleeves
rolled up, which would indicate an ag-
gressive natureV He learned after-
wards that this was Judge Samuel B.
Clark, from his own county, Warren.
Sylvester Hall was with the party also.
He was a brother of Eosetta Hall who
married Samuel Clark, a son of Judge
Samuel B. Clark. Sylvester Hall was
killed at Vicksburg in the Civil war.
These difficult journeys seemed to please
Judge Clark very much as he had a
strong traveling nature, as is evidenced
by his first emigration from Ohio, with-
out being half prepared, his trip to
Texas as above related, his disastrous
journey to Arkansas, his trip to Pike's
Peak and finally his overland trip to
the gold fields of California in 1850.
All this shows that he was some trav-
eler and certainly enjoyed scenes and
changes that were new; in fact he
must be classed as a genuine type of
the pioneer, enjoying all of the pleas-
ures and not complaining of the hard-
ships of such a life.

Samuel B. Clark was a great Bible
student, and the facts indicate that he

must have been an "unbeliever." His
family bible is completely covered with
marginal notes, and in many places
are strange drawings of figures, the sig-
nificance of which is hard to decipher.
The two evidences seem, however, to
make an attempt to show apparent con-
tradictions between some passages in
the Bible. There are many stories of
Mr. Clark's exploits, among them one
that will no doubt survive for many
years. While living at Independence
and while he was operating his store
and ferry at that place there was a
Doctor Yandes also living there. Yan-
des was prominent in medical circles
and had a large practice. The doctor
had a call from a Mr. Young from the
Fountain county side of the river. They
engaged Clark to take them across the
river in a canoe. The river at that
time was very high, the wind was
blowing very strong, and when part
way across, the canoe upset. Clark
managed to get the other two on the
upturned boat and instructed them to
remain there until he swam ashore
and obtained another boat. He reached
shore safely and securing it started out
in pursuit of the other boat. When he
finally reacht it the men were gone.
Being exhausted they could not hold
on any longer and so drowned. Their
bodies were recovered and buried in
the same grave. During Mr. Clark's
early life there were few inventions or
innovations that he came in contact
with and when one was called to his
attention he was prone to take a skep-
tical attitude toward it. As an illus-
tration it is told by his son, Samuel,
that after they returned from Califor-
nia, bringing their gold dust with them,
they started negotiations for the sale

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

133

of it. There were but few markets in
those days and Sam, the son, remarked
to his father that he would telegraph
to Chicago for quotations. Samuel
B. looked at him in rather a blank way
and asked him what he meant. Sam
said that an operator at Attica would
manipulate some wires on an instru-
ment and that would send words to Chi-
cago. The old gentleman was very
much astonished and also skeptical and
said "Well you have traveled a good
deal and seen a good many things, and
so have I, but you can't stuff any such
foolery down me. ' '

In a statement made by John C.
Goodwine, a grandson of Elizabeth
Baird (this is the proper spelling, so
he says) who is still living (1917)
he says positively that five sons
of John Clark, of which Samuel B. Clark
was the youngest, were in the war of
1812. There is no positive evidence that
this IS true except that all of the older
Clarks now living agree that Stephen
Clark, brother of Samuel B., was in
this war and was killed after he came
home by being thrown from a horse.
Some later records show that in the
muster rolls of the War of 1812 from
Eoss county, Ohio there is mentioned
and recorded the following:

CLARK, SAMUEL, private; Captain
John McArthur, Ross county, July 28,
1813— August 27, 1813. John C. Good-
wine says the captain 's name was Ed
Hoffman.

The records of the births of these
five sons, to which Mr. Goodwine
refers, taking the eldest — William, born
1784, Thomas born 1786, John born
1788, Stephen born 1792, and Samuel B.
born 1794 — would indicate that they
were all eligible altho Samuel B. would

have been only eighteen years old at
that time., Goodwine says fnrther:
"Judge Samuel B. Clark, late of War-
ren county, was the most active fron-
tier settler of all the Clarks that I ever
knew. He was certainly the fifth in
age of one half of the ten brothers,
sons of John Clark of Clarksburg, Ohio,
Ross county. I have heard his sister
(Elizabeth Baird) state many times
that he was the fifth of age of the
soldiers and his red-headed children got
their complexion from the Braedy side.
Judge Samuel B. Clark was a mover and
occupied some fine and valuable land.
He was a regular lexicon of informa-
tion of localities, qualities of lands,
etc. His first location that I have
knowledge of was near the Wabash
river on the east side below Lafay-
ette." (This no doubt is correct and
the exact place is about two miles
above what is now known as Flint
creek.) "This location was point-
ed out to me," continues Mr. Good-
wine, while I was on the first excur-
sion given by the Erie, Wabash and
Western Railroad, while we were pass-
ing thru Wea plains in 1856. He had
something to do with locating the coun-
ty seats in both Warren and Tippecanoe
counties. Judge Clark was a man that
did things worth recording. He with
very crude implements or tools could
engrave, print or mold tokens in re-
cords. If any one will examine a cer-
tain hill-side near Fall creek on what is
known as the George Butler place ihej
will find the grave of Mary Blair Clark,
his mother, marked with a chiseled
sand-stone marker at the grave, placed
there by the hands of the fifth son,
Samuel B., and the tenth son Wesley
Clark. ' '

134

SKiJTCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

The oldest history of Warren county,
published in 1883, mentions Judge
Samuel B. Clark quite prominently and
it is shown that he must have taken
a very active part in the organization
of the county and he was honored at
different times by being appointed and
elected to several offices, the principal
one of which was Associate Judge. No
part of his history shows that he ever
studied law or that he ever had a very
acute legal mind, but he no doubt had
a great deal of the old-fashioned com-
mon sense and was stamped as a man of
honor and uprightness and for that
reason was trusted and placed in many
places of prominence and responsibility.
The earliest mention of him in this
history is made during the preliminar-
ies of the organization of the county,
June 23, 1827, which was the date for
election of clerk, recorder, two asso-
ciate judges etc. It is shown that
Samuel B. Clark and three others were
candidates for associate judges. He
received the highest vote of any, Na-
thaniel Butterfield being next highest.
As they two received the largest vote
they were declared elected as first
judges of the county. On the 28th day
of September 1828, the first circuit
court held in Warren county was con-
vened at the house of Enoch Farmer,
present John K. Porter, of Vermilion
county presiding, Samuel B. Clark and
Nathaniel Butterfield, associate judges.
The second term began May 7, 1829,
the presiding judge not being present.
There was admitted to the bar for the
practice of law Moses Cox and Ed-
ward A. Hannegan. The latter after-
wards became a very distinguished U.
S. Senator and famous criminal lawyer,
and served also as ambassador to the

court of Prussia. In the election of
November 1828 the list of voters, vot-
ing in Medina township included Zach-
ariah Cicott, the famous Indian trader,
Edward Mace, Samuel B. Clark and
twenty-three others. • |

In 1830 Samuel B. Clark was appoint- ^
ed county agent. What kind of an of-
fice this was the history does not state.
Later investigation shows that the du-
ties of a county agent in those times
were as custodian of the school funds,
with power to loan the funds and col-
lect the interest and he probably had
the power also to convey title of school
lands in case of sale. Eegarding the
very earliest history of Warren county
it is mentioned that Cicott was the
first white man to reside permanently
within the present limits of the county.
Probably no other came until about the
year 1824 at which time a few came and
for two or three years the settlement
was quite slow. Mention is made of
several families located in the differ-
ent parts of the county and it is stated
that north-east of the central part,
above Pine creek resided Cicott, the
Maces, the Farmers and Samuel B.
Clark and others. In a description of
the Mary Chatterlie Eeservation in
Warren county it is mentioned that
this land was granted to the said Mary
Chatterlie, a daughter of a PottawatO:
mi chief. About 1839 a considerable
part was sold by the consent of Mr.
Finch of Lafayette and Samuel B.
Clark of Warren county, who had been
appointed by the Indian Agent for that
purpose. A great-grandson of Samuel
B. Clark (Eobert S. Clark) now owns a
part of the above reservation.

Samuel B. Clark served in the 16th
and 18th Indiana legislatures in 1831

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

135

and 1.833 and was one of those that
supported the bill for public improve-
ments.

According to the records Samuel B.
Clark entered land in township 22,
range 6 and in 1826 also entered land
in township 23, range 6. He died Jan-
uary 14, 1860, and was buried in the
Carbondale cemetery. Thus there lived
and died a strong individual, a rugged
character, a progressive citizen, a man
of honor, and unflinching integrity, a
man essential to the growth and devel-
opement of his country, a staunch friend
and a loyal neighbor, a man prominent

in his immediate territory, in his own
country and well known in wider cir-
cles as a patriot and a soldier. Mer-
edith Nicholson might well have had
him in mind when he wrote:

Across the world the ceaseless march
of man has been thru smoldering
fires left by the bold;

Who first beyond the guarded outposts
ran and saw with wondering eyes
new lands unrolled;

Who built the hut in which a home be-
gan and 'round a eampfire's ashes
broke the mold.

Edward A. Hannegan

About 1825 a man named John
Bodely moved with his family to Shaw-
nes township and settled on what is
now known as the Bodely branch. His
wife 's name before her marriage was
Hannegan, and her brother, Edward A.
Hannegan, the subject of this sketch,
moved into Shawnee township, Foun-
tain county, about 1825. In 1825 and
1826 he worked for the farmers in
south Davis and north EiehlaLd town-
ships and went from there to Williams-
port where he was admitted to the bar
to practice law at the second term of
court held in Warren county. This
began May 7, 1829 and Judge Samuel
B. Clark was one of the associate judges
at the time. After practicirg in
Williamsport a short time under the
old circuits, traveling over a large dis-
trict following the court on horseback
with all the attorneys and their saddle-
bags, Hannegan formed a partnership
with Rufus A. Lockwood of Lafayette.

This partnership lasted only two or
three years and during that time Han-
negan was continually on the circuit
with the court while Lockwood re-
mained in the office. About 1832 Han-
negan settled at Covington and mar-
ried a Miss Duncan. He became the
most noted criminal lawyer in Indiana;
excepting, perhaps, his partner, Eufus
A. Lockwood.

In 1832 Hannegan defeated Albert S.
White of Tippecanoe county for Con-
gress and soon became prominent. Har-
riet Martineau, the famous English
writer, who visited Washington
while he was there, thought him
the most eloquent man in Con-
gress, preferring him to Webster;
and Webster himself said of Hannegan,
' ' Had he entered before I entered Con-
gress I fear I should never have been
known for my eloquence. ' ' Hannegan
remained in Congress until 1840 when
he was defeated by Henry S. Lane of

136

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

Crawfordsville. Hannegan was elected
United States Senator and served until
1849. At the expiration of his term he
was appointed, on March 29, 1849, by
President Polk as minister to the court
of Prussia. He was not a diplomat, he
could not keep state secrets and drank
too much whiskey. The queen of Prus-
sia became so infatuated with the elo-
quent representative from the Hoosier
State that the king grew jealous, and
when upon a state occasion Hannegan
kissed the hand of the queen the king
askt that he be recalled.

Logan Esarey, in his splendid new
history of Indiana, mentions Hannegan
first as a member of the International
Improvement party, and says:

"In local politics the Internal Im-
provement party controlled the State
by an overwhelming majority. The
party was not unevenly divided between
Jackson and Adams men. * * * National
politics did not control State elections
as at present. In organizing the General
Assembly in 1829, J. F. D. Lanier, later
the distinguisht Whig banker of Madi-
ison, was made principal clerk unanim-
ously, while Edward A. Hannegan, later
the eloquent Democratic senator, was
chosen enrolling clerk. After the elec-
tion of 1834 it seemed that Indiana was
safely Whig. The state officers and a
large majority of the General Assem-
bly belonged to that party, while the
regular Democratic organization was
almost broken up. Tipton, Hannegan,
Sullivan, Judah, Milroy, Drake and Dr.
Canby, had either quit the party or
were temporarily opposing it.

August 5, 1838, Hannegan was a col-
onel in the State Militia and stationed
at the fort at Plymouth, Indiana, on
account of trouble with the Indians.

Esarey says "Councils were held at
Plymouth and Dixie Lake, but the red
men were obdurate. Then Col. Edward
A. Hannegan, later a United States
senator from Indiana, came from the
post with a company of militia, to see
what effect that would have. It had
none. ' '

An incident in Hannegan 's election
to the United States Senate, showing
the possibility of one vote, is quite
often referred to: Hannegan was called
to defend a man for murder in Switz-
erland county. When he went to his
client he was informed that his client
had no money, but without price or
prospect of pay Hannegan took the case
and cleared his client, accepting as pay
the pledge that if it ever became pos-
sible for his client to do so he would
use whatever means he could to further
the interest of Hannegan politically.
The man whom Hannegan defended
died but pledged his son that he would
fulfill his promise to aid Hanne-
gan. When the opportunity came the
son was confined to his bed a hopeless
victim of tuberculosis, but he told the
candidate for the legislature in his dis-
trict, Daniel Kelso, that if he would
take him to the polls and pledge him-
self to vote for Edward A. Hannegan
and do all he could to elect him Unit-
ed States Senator, he would go to the
polls and vote. The candidate for the
legislature took him to the polls and
he voted. A few days later he died, and
it developed that Kelso was elected
state senator by one vote. After a
close hard-fought race Hannegan was
elected U.S. Senator by one vote. After
he entered the senate, the question of
the Mexican war had passed the lower
house, and was a tie in the senate. The

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

137

vote of Edward A. Hannegan determin-
ed the attitude of the United States and
brought the war with Mexico with the
result that much splendid territory was
added to the United States. All this
could be traced to the one vote of the
dying man.

Esarey tells of this election as fol-
lows: 'The opening battle of the new
era in Indiana politics was the elec-
tion of the United States senator to
succeed O. H. Smith, whose term ex-
pired in 1843. The two parties were
almost evenly matched in the General
Assembly, so evenly that one or two
votes would determine the contest. On
the first ballot O. H. Smith, the Whig
candidate, received 72 votes, Tilghman
A. Howard, the Democratic candidate,
74 and Joseph G. Marshall, a whig, 1.
On the second ballot O. H. Smith receiv-
ed 75, Howard 74. Daniel Kelso, a
Whig senator from Switzerland county,
voted for Hannegan. On the sixth bal-
lot the democrats dropt Howard, and
supported Hannegan who then received
76 votes and was elected. Kelso was
openly charged with selling his vote
and the whigs, by public resolution, de-
nounced him. ' '

In 1848 the democrats controlled the
General Assembly. A spirited contest
at once began for Hannegan 's seat in
the United States senate. Governor
Whitcomb, Eobert Dale Owen, E. M.
Chamberlain and Senator Hannegan
were the Democratic aspirants. There
were 82 of the 87 members present.
Whitcomb received 49, Owen 12, Han-
negan 10, Chamberlain 6, and Whitcomb
was elected.

In 1851 Covington had four illustri-
ous men living there. Hannegan was
admitted as a Mason, May 26, 1850;

Daniel W. Voorhees was raised a Mason
December 13, 1850 and Lew Wallace
was made a Mason January 15, 1851, so
at the time Edward A. Hannegan, Dan-
iel W. Voorhees, Lew Wallace and
Isaac A. Eice were all of them resi-
dents of Covington.

A trivial incident, but worth the tell-
ing as a means of injecting a lighter
vein into a story that is all too sad,
has been handed down among the old
men of Covington. Hannegan had a
younger brother, George by name, an
awkward youth who during his teens
made his home with Edward. As no
man is a hero to his valet so George
failed to appreciate the brilliance and
greatness of his brother. Often when
the latter was engaged in the prepara-
tion of an important speech or a brief
the lad would come lounging into his
office and break in upon his work with
unnecessary noise and conversation.
Finally Edward told George one day
that he wanted him to show some re-
spect for him, that when he came into
the office he was to take a seat quietly
and without speaking wait until the
older brother was ready to talk to him.

It was but a few days later that
George came into the office and sat
down in a chair. He did not speak but
clapped his hands in an effort to attract
the attention of Edward from his desk
but the latter, thinking that it was
good discipline for the youngster, kept
him waiting for some time before he
finally lookt up and askt what was
wanted. "You told me not to speak to
you when I came in," he exclaimed,
"so I didn't — but your house is on
fire! " And it was.

Julia Henderson Levering, who was
born in Covington, says in her History

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SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

of Indiana in speaking of the part
Fountain county took in the constitu-
tional convention of 1851:

' ' Covington was a very thriving town
in those days, with the lively commerce
of the new canal and river and eclipsed
the capital of the state in business pros-
pects. In the village there was a bril-
liant coterie of young men, who had
settled there because of the flattering
business outlook. Many of them be-
came famous afterwards in state and
national politics. Such men as Senator
Edward Hannegan, Judge Eistine, Dan-
iel Voorhees, David Briar, and Lew
Wallace resided in the town." Again
she says: "There was also much bluster
thruout the west during President
Polk's campaign over the claims of
Great Britan regarding Oregon. With
the other states west of the Alleghanies,
Indiana joined in the cry of her own
United States Senator, Edward Hanne-
gan, of 'Fifty-four forty or fight.' "

In the county election in August,
1851, there were three candidates for
representative from Fountain County.
Jacob Dice received 1165 votes, Hanne-
gan 997 and William Piatt 80. Piatt
lived in Covington and built the house
that is now the home of Judge I. E.
Schoonover. Piatt county, Illinois, was
named for him. Perhaps in this elec-
tion Lew Wallace was elected prosecu-
ting attorney, as a democrat. Daniel
W. Voorhees was then a young attor-
ney, with splendid prospects before him,
and a whig, Isaac A. Eice, was a prac-
ticing attorney and editor of The Foun-
tain Ledger at Covington.

After the election was over Edward
A. Hannegan entered the race for the
presidency and secured possibly nine
states so it lookt as tho nothing would

prevent his being the Democratic can-
didate for president in the election
which would follow. Had he been the
nominee he would have been the pres-
ident of the United States instead of
Franklin Pierce, for Pierce was then
unknown.

It happened that under the stress
of the canvass he was drinking more
whiskey than usual and it was getting
the best of him to an extent that alarm-
ed his friends. He came home for a
rest and his brother-in-law, Capt. John
E. Duncan, who had won his title in
the Mexican war, upbraided him for
his drunkenness. Duncan was greatly
interested in the welfare of his brilli-
ant brother-in-law and saw that his
own conduct was jeopardizing his
chances. A bitter quarrel followed and
finally Mrs. Hannegan prevailed upon
her husband to go upstairs. Capt.
Duncan is said to have called Hannegan
a coward and slapt his face. This was
more than the whiskey-fired brain of
Hannegan could stand and snatching
a dagger from a mantel in the room
he drove it to the hilt in the captain's
body. Duncan died the next day but
before his death declared that no blame
should be attacht to Hannegan. He
was buried in the old cemetery at
Covington where his grave can still
be seen. Hannegan was heartbroken
over the affair and never again enter-
ed the cemetery, even refusing to go
there when his wife was buried. This
incident occurred in the house now
occupied by David Ferguson, as a res-
idence, opposite the Methodist church,
on May 6, 1852.

The killing naturally created a sen-
sation, not only locally but thruout
the nation for Hannegan, be it remem-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

139

bered, was a national figure and the
leading candidate for the presidency.
Lew Wa,llace, the prosecuting attor-
ney, refused to prosecute Hannegan
and tendered his resignation, soon af-
terward moving from Covington to
Crawfordsville. A charge of man-
slaughter was lodged against Hannegan
but the grand jury failed to indict
him. Isaac A. Eice criticized severely
the grand jury and court for this find-
ing but that it appears to have met
popular approval is evidenced by the
fact that the democrats of the commun-
ity made it so warm for Eice that he
was forced to leave and he moved his
paper to Attica, where it became The
Attica Ledger and endures to this day.

The only official record that is left
of the Duncan tragedy is the following
in the Order Book among the records
in the clerk's office at Covington:
"Sixth Judicial Day, of the September
Term of Court, 1852. State of Indiana
vs. E. A. Hannegan, on a charge of
manslaughter. Comes now the said
defendant and no bill of indictment
having been found by the grand jury
it is ordered by the court that the said
defendant be discharged and go hence
without day. Signed, September 18,
1852 by J. Naylor, Judge."

Hannegan was never the same man
after the tragedy. He abandoned his
presidential and all other political as-
pirations and for a few years continued
to practice law at Covington in a des-
ultory way, but spending much time
in the saloons thus gradually lost his
prestige.

Daniel Voorhees was appointed to
fill the unexpired term of Lew Wallace
as prosecuting attorney but soon after-
wards Voorhees, partially on account of

criticism in this case, left Covington
and went to Terre Haute.

It is useless for me to tell the story
of the life of Lew Wallace. The his-
tory of the state in which he lived
could not be written without his deeds
being recorded. Daniel W. Voorhees
became United States senator and the
most eloquent criminal lawyer in the
United States of America. Isaac A.
Eice was elected to the State senate
from 1856 to 1860 and died in 1860 at
Delphi while making a political speech.
He was then the nominee for congress
from this dictrict and would have been
elected had he not met this untimely
end. It is said that Hennegan discov-
ered Lew Wallace and Daniel W. Voor-
hees. He was a great admirer of Bish-
op Simpson, one of the early presidents
of Asbury University (now DePauw
University), and did much to aid Simp-
son to get recognition in the eastern
states as a public speaker, interesting
the members of the United States Sen-
ate and Congress in the bishop's ora-
tory.

The late Judge James McCabe of
Williamsport was a great admirer of
Hannegan and named his son Edward
after him. Judge McCabe has told
me that Hennegan was very graceful
in his personal appearance, with a mu-
sical voice and the most eloquent man
he ever heard speak.

Hannegan was very fond of the Wa-
bash Valley and the Wabash river.
Often he would leave Washington dur-
ing a session of Congress to go home
and fish and hunt and regain his health
along the banks of the Wabash. Once
he said to a friend, "Come go
home with me and let me show you the
lovely valley of the Wabash." Again,

140

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

on a hot day in Washington, ' ' I can en-
dure these hot and crowded halls no
longer, I must have free air and space
in which to roam, I would like to fish
and hunt where I pleased and when I
pleased; come go home with me, and
see how I live in Indiana, and the
beauty of the Wabash river and the
Wabash Valley."

In 1857 some of Hannegan 's politi-
cal friends in St.Louis prevailed upon
him to move to that city (where his
only son had previously located,) with
the idea of rehabilitating his political
fortunes. He opened a law office there
and for two years his friends did all
they could to aid in gaining prominence
for him politically. Possibly their zeal
was not unselfish and some of them at
least hoped to profit by his return to
popularity. They met with some suc-
cess, altho the edge of Hannegan 's
ambition was dulled by the tragedy at
Covington and by the death of his wife,
which had occurred in the meantime.
The whiskey habit still remained with
him and he had also become addicted
to morphine. In spite of these handi-
caps he and his friends were making
headvv'ay.

Finally in January, 1859, his friends
concluded that it was time for a master
stroke and arranged for a great meet-
ing at which the chief address was to
be made by Hannegan. This address,
it was expected, would attract nation-
wide attention and again bring the
speaker into national prominence as
presidential timber. The meeting was
carefully arranged and widely adver-
tised. A huge crowd responded and
the plans were working fine so the
promoters were elated. But the mills
of the gods are relentless. Hannegan

had worshipt at the shrine of Bacchusij
and Bacchus claimed his toll. Eealiz-
ing that upon the success of this speech
depended his success or failure Hanne-
gan resorted to both whiskey and mor-
phine for stimulant. The man who
made the speech of introduction was
long-winded. He reviewed the public
career of Hannegan at length and talk-
ed too long. When it came time for
Hannegan to speak the drug and alco-
hol had passed the stage of stimula-
tion and were beginning to have the op-
posite effect. He made the address
but it was lacking in the brilliance and
power of oratory which his hearers had
been led to expect, and fell flat.

His friends upbraided him for his
indulgence at such a critical time. None
of them realized more clearly than he
how completely he had failed. He went
to his room that night stung by the
criticism of his friends and deprest by
the sense of his own humiliation. None
of them ever saw him alive afterward.
The next morning his dead body was
found in his bed, death having come as
the result of an overdose of morphine.
Whether the drug was taken with sui-
cidal intent or merely to induce sleep
and rest from his thoughts will never
be known. His death occurred Janu-
ary, 25, 1859. His body was taken to
Terre Haute for burial altho his wife
was buried at Coviugton.

So ends the life of Edward A. Han-
negan, the most brilliant orator the
Wabash Valley ever produced; aye,
more than that, the most brilliant ora-
tor that ever graced the halls of the
American Congress. His meteoric ca-
reer furnishes ample room for moraliz-
ing on the evil of indulgence in alcohol-
ic liquor but perhaps it were better to

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

141

draw about his shortcomings the mantle
of charity and close this sketch with
these words from the finish of a speech
he delivered in Congress: "For the
singleness and sincerity of my motives
I appeal to Heaven; by them I am
willing to be judged now and hereafter
when prostrate at Thy feet, O, God, I
falter forth my last brief prayer for
mercy on an erring life. ' '

Hannegan was a man of strong sen-
timental interests. Before he left Cov-
ington he gave to Colonel McManomy,
of that city, who happened to be
the local Democratic leader at the time,
a photograph of himself, with the in-
junction that it be kept as a Demo-
cratic talisman. Years afterward when
McManomy came to his death bed he

sent for Hannibal Yount, upon whose
shoulders the cloak of leadership then
rested, and placed the portrait in his
hands as a sacred trust to be passed on
at his death. Yount kept the picture
all his life and just two weeks
before his death summoned Leroy
Sanders, at that time county clerk and
leader of the county Democracy, and
turned the talisman over to him. Mr.
Sanders moved to Indianapolis in 1915
but took the picture with him and still
holds it altho he recognizes the obliga-
tion that rests upon him to pass it on
and expects to return it to Covington
when he feels that the proper time has
come. It is the only photograph of
Hannegan known to be in existence.

The Western Emigration

' ' Westward the course of empire
takes its flight."

"Westward,. Ho, Westward" has
been the cry from the landing of the
Pilgrims on Plymouth Eock until this
day.

Two things in human nature have
had to do with the western trend of
emigration: one, the desire to better
and make easier the conditions of life
for posterity; the other, adventure.
And so the settler, buoyant with hope
to better the condition of his children,
joined hands with the venturesome
spirit and together they have slowly
wended their way across the continent.

The entire story of America from the
Cavalier of the South and the Pilgrim
of New England has been one contin-

uous story of the life of the pioneer.
As this stream of emigration has poured
slowly across the continent it has driven
before it the stolid red man. In the
Eastern Middle States it has hewn from
the forest the prosperous and beautiful
farms and builded towns and cities;
it has broken the sod of the prairies of
the Middle West and made them blossom
and bloom as the rose and has wrenched
from the miserly grasp of rock in the
mountains of the West the rich deposits
of ore. Those pioneers who left the Wa-
bash Valley to make their future homes
on the Pacific coast have added their
mite to the building of an empire.

What a delightful task our fathers
have performed! What a magnificent
empire they have builded! What a

142

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

splendid heritage they have left to
posterity I Most of them have finished
their journey on earth, and gone the
way of all the world and we now reap
the fruits of their labor.

The turning spindles and flying shut-
tles in the factories sing Labor's sweet
song, while the earth answers in abund-
ance to those who till the soil or herd
the cattle on a thousand hills. Even the
tropical fruits of the sunny South, the
forests in all their pristine beauty, and
the broad wheatfields of the western
plains and the great Northwest are all,
all of them but answering notes of the
labor of the generations that have pre-
ceded us.

% From 1842 to 1849 there was a great
influx of emigration from the eastern
states into Indiana and Illinois, the
emigrants coming in from almost every
direction, and in all kinds of convey-
ances used in that day. Many came up
the river or down the river and later
many came over the national road, leav-
ing it to go further north. Many of
their descendants, having the pioneer
spirit, crowded into the states of Iowa
and Missouri. When gold was discover-
ed in California in 1847 this furnished
the opportunity for the venturesome
spirits that had come early into the
Wabash Valley and many of them, like
Judge Samuel Clark, fitted out ox wag-
ons and started for the gold mining
districts of the Pacific coast. There
was one colony of about twenty wagons
that left Attica and Williamsport to go
overland to California. This colony
was taken thru by a man named Davis.
John L. Foster,, the father of George
and Daniel Foster, went into this colony
when quite a boy with some two or
three neighbors from Shawnee town-

ship. Many of those who started early
on the long, long journey across the
plains to the Pacific coast died on the
road and a very small percent of them
ever returned. Hundreds of families
left the Wabash Valley to cross the
plains in search of gold and it may be
said that the majority of them that
reached the Promised Land prospered.
In 1850 to 1852 a great many went to
Oregon over the Oregon trail. A Mr.
Waymire, of Independence, left Inde-
pendence with about five hundred men,
women and children to go to Oregon.
When his colony reached the Piatt river
not a great distance from Ft.Kearney,
they became afilicted with cholera and
many of them died. The rest of the
colony became so discouraged that they
returned to Missouri, only two wagons
and five people of the five hundred that
started ever reaching Oregon. A few
years later Mr. Longmyer started from
near where Frank Martin now lives in
Logan township, with a colony of about
three hundred persons; this colony went
thru without any mishaps. Longmyer
himself settled at the foot of Mt. Eai-
nier and his family still live there and
run a hotel at what is known as Long-
myer Springs, at the foot of the moun-
tain. Those that came back and told
the story of the plains saw the possi-
bilities of what was then called the
Great American Desert, and many col-
onies were made up to go to Colorado,
Kansas and Nebraska in the fifties.
There was a very large emigration from
Davis township to Nebraska. The emi-
grants met in a schoolhouse near the
mouth of Grindstone creek and started
from that point after which this school-
house, and sometimes also the creek,
was called Nebraska. When the Wa-

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

143

bash railroad a few years later was built
thru there it made a siding near the
school which was called Nebraska
Switch. All the horses, cattle and hogs
shipt cast were fed at this point. Fol-
lowing this emigration started to Kan-
sas and Colorado and for many years
there was hardly a day during the spring
that one could not see a covered wagon
on the road with emigrants on their way
West. The majority of those people

who left the Wabash Valley and the
eastern states to make their homes in
the West fared very well in later years,
altho many of them suffered all the
hardships of the pioneer.

Within the past twenty-five years
travel has become so cheap and con-
venient on the railroads that the cov-
ered wagons pulled by horses with emi-
grants bound for the West have entire-
ly disappeared.

Early Judges of Warren County

Charles V. McAdams, for twenty
years a well known and successful at-
torney at Williamsport but now of La-
fayette, made a very interesting and
valuable contribution to local history
this year when he presented to the War-
ren Circuit court ; large framed por-
traits of eleven of the men who have
served that county as judge. The list
includes Isaac Naylor, Eleazer Purvi-
ance, Wm. Perkins Bryant, William E.
Boyer, John M. Cowan, James Park,
John M. LaRue, James MeCabe, Joseph
M. Rabb and James T. Saunderson.
This, of course, is not a complete list
of the judges of the county but it in-
cludes all those of whom photographs
are in existence.

Mr. McAdams prefaced his remarks
with the statement that he had begun
the study of law in Williamsport in
1879 in the office of Judge Eabb. In
his legal work as the years went by
he had often run across the names of
men who served the county in a judi-
cial capacity during its early history
and was imprest by the fact that an

unusual number of them afterwards
became prominent in state and national
affairs. A few weeks before he noticed
in the papers a story that the oldest
living alumnus of Indiana university
was John M. Cowan, now 94 years old
and a resident of Missouri. In the
story it was related that he had been a
judge in Indiana, and Mr. McAdams
recalled that a man by the same name
had been circuit judge of Warren coun-
ty during the Civil war. He wrote to
Judge Cowan and verified this and la-
ter secured from him a photograph
which formed the nucleus of the col-
lection. This discovery led to others.
By delving into old court records he
secured names of the other judges and
after locating their descendants wher-
ever possible secured from them photo-
graphs, daguerrotypes, or tintypes from
which he had the larger portraits made.
The first judge that dispensed jus-
tice in Warren county was John Por-
ter, a "president judge," who was
assisted by two associate judges. Judge
Porter was born at Pittsfield, Mass. In

144

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

1822 he came to Indiana, settled at
Paoli, and was soon afterward elected
judge. To be nearer the center of his
district he moved to Vermillion county,
locating near the town of Eugene,
which at that time was one of the
most thriving in western Indiana. He
served as president judge until 1838
and was widely noted for his judicial
ability. No picture of Judge Porter
was obtainable.

Next was Isaac Naylor, who succeed-
ed Judge Porter in 1838 and retained
the position until 1852 when the office
of president judge was abolisht by the
new constitution. Later (1863 to 1867)
he was judge of the common pleas
court, making 21 years that he was a
judge of Warren county. His home was
at Crawfordsville. He was a native
of Eockingham, Va., and came from
there to Kentucky, thence to Charles-
ton, Ind., later removing to Vevay and
finding his final home at Crawfords-
ville. He was admitted to the Warren
county bar in 1833. His son is now
professor in English in a well known
university, but strangely enough, knows
practically nothing about his father's
judicial record. He was one of the
band of Hoosier settlers that pursued
the Indians after the Pigeon Boost
massacre, and was a private, in the bat-
tle of Tippecanoe. In the great rally
held on the Tippecanoe battlefield in
1840 he was one of the principal speak-
ers.

The new constitution adopted in 1851
abolisht the president judges and creat-
ed circuit judges in their stead. The
first circuit judge was Wm. P. Bryant,
whose circuit included Warren, Vermil-
lion, Parke, Fountain, Montgomery,
Clinton and Tippecanoe counties. He

was a native of Lexington, Ky., born
in 1806, married there in 1832 and lo-
cated at Eockville, where he formed
a law partnership with Tighlman A.
Howard, later U. S. senator. Bryant
served as state senator from 1832 to
'33, prosecutor from 1834 to '38, state
senator from 1838, to '39, and later he
was appointed chief justice of Oregon
territory, which position he filled for
four years. On his return to Indiana
he was elected circuit judge in 1852
and filled the position until 1858, when
he was succeeded by Judge Cowan, to
whom reference has already been made.

The later circuit judges were Thomas
F. Davidson, 1870-1882, Joseph M.
Eabb, (1882-1906, James T. Saunderson,
1906-1912, and Burton B. Berry, the
present incumbent.

From 1852 to 1873 there was also a
court of common pleas in addition to
the circuit court, which had jurisdic-
tion only in the county. Its first judge
was Daniel Mills, and then followed in
order, Wm. E. Boyer, (an uncle of the
late W. B. Durborow), Isaac Naylor,
James Park, (who built the house in
Williamsport in which E. F. McCabe
now lives). He was provost marshal
of this district during the Civil war
and served as judge only from March
to October 1867. Later he was ap-
pointed consul to Aix la Chapelle,
France. John M. LaEue was the last
judge of the court of common pleas.

As first organized the circuit courts
of Indiana had three judges, the cir-
cuit or president judge, and two as-
sociate judges in each county, who oc-
cupied the bench with the presiding
judge and sometimes held court on cer-
tain eases without him being present.
These, associate judges were .seldom

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

145

lawyers but men of sound common sense
and judgement. Nathaniel Butterfield
and Samuel Clark, grandfather of O.
S. Clark, of Attica, were the first of
these associate judges in Warren coun-
ty. They were followed by Isaac
Eains, James Crawford, David McCon-
nell, Hugh M. King, Wm. Allen, Thom-
as Collins, Levi Jennings, William Cal-
dron, Eleazer Purviance, Josiah Thorpe
and Silas Hooker. Judge Purviance
was a grandfather of Dr. E. D. Purvi-
ance of Attica.

From 1829 to 1852 the matter of
looking after wills and the settlement
of estates was handled by a special
court maintained for that purpose and
known as the probate court. There
were only four probate judges. Wm.
Willmuth served from 1829 to 1836,
John B. King from 1836 to 1840, Ed-
ward Mace from 1840 to 1846, and
Peter Schoonover from 1846 till the
court was abolisht with the adoption
of the new constitution in 1852. The
last named was the father of I. A.
Schoonover, present judge of the Foun-
tain Circuit court.

It seems a little remarkable, but is
doubtless true, no other county in the
state has had such a number of noted
men connected with its courts. In ad-
dition i;o the mention that has already

been made of the honors achieved by
some of them there is Judge James
McCabe, of the Warren county bar,
who served as justice of the supreme
court. Judge J. M. Eabb served on the
Appellate bench. The list of men who
served as, prosecuting attorney also
contains a number that afterwards be-
came known to fame. Edward A. Han-
negan, was state senator. United States
senator, minister to Prussia and a can-
didate for the presidency. J. E. Mc-
Donald, James Bingham and Ele Stans-
bury have been attorney general, Mr.
McDonald being the first to fill that
office after it was created and Mr.
Stansbury being the present incumbent.
McDonald also served as United Stateg
senator. Samuel C. Wilson and Eobert
B. F, Pierce became congressmen, the
former being a friend and supporter of
Lincoln. Lew Wallace made a notable
military record in the Civil war and is
known thruout the world as an author.
He also served with credit as minister
to Mexico and to Turkey. Joseph A.
Wright served twice as governor. J.
Frank Hanly, who began his legal ca-
reer in the Warren bar, also served aa
state senator, congressman and gover-
nor, and later was a candidate for the
presidency on the Prohibition ticket.

Early Courts of Fountain County

The first court held in Fountain coun- was presided over by Judge Lucas Neb-

ty was held at the home of Robert Het- eker, with Evans Hinton as associate

field on the 14th day of July, 1826, not judge. Lucas Nebeker was the father

far from Aylesworth on the Strader of George Nebeker and the grandfather

farm in Shawnee township. This court of Lucas Nebeker, the well known at-

146

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

torney at Covington and one of the best
lawyers in the State of Indiana, and
of Enos-Nebeker, who at one time was
United States treasurer. Evans Hinton
lived east of Attica near where Harry
Stephenson now lives. He was an un-
cle of Mrs. Wilson Claypool and of Dr.
John Evans, the most illustrious citi-
zen who ever resided in Attica. Neither
Nebeker nor Hinton were lawyers but
were both farmers. In this first court
held by them there was not much bus-
iness transacted.

In September of the same year and
at the same place the second court was
held with John R. Porter as president
judge, and Lucas Nebeker and Evans
Hinton as associate judges. This term
of court lasted but one day, no case
coming up for trial. However, at this
term of court John Law, Thomas H.
Blake, Joseph VanMeter, John B. Chap-
man, Andrew Ingram and James Har-
rington, coming from all parts of the
county, were admitted to the bar for
the practice of law.

John R. Porter, president judge, was
born at Pittsfield, Mass. He first set-
tled at Paoli when coming to Indiana
in 1S22 and soon afterwards was elect-
ed judge. His circuit extended from the
Ohio river to Lake Michigan, and in
order to be near the center of his dis-
trict he moved to Vermilion county, tak-
ing up land from the government near
what was then known as the Buffalo
Springs just a little below Cayuga and
now known locally as Portertown. A
grandaughter of Judge Porter now
lives on the site of his home there.
It was on this land that General Wil-
liam Henry Harrison located his fort
for reserve supplies and the logs for
this fort are still in good preservation

as they lie in the Wabash river on this
farm. It was from this point that
General Harrison left the river with his
army to make their journey skirting
the prairie in November, 1811, as they
marched to Prophetstown where they
fought the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Eugene at that time (1824) was the
most thriving town in western Indiana.
Across the Vermilion river from Eugene
had been the Kickapoo town which was
destroyed by Major General John F.
Ilamtramck in one of the most cruel
aud heartless slaughters of innocent
women and children ever recorded and
to which reference has been made in
some of the early sketches of this
series.

The court met in Fountain county
again in 1828. At this meeting Edward
A. Hannegan and Daniel Rodgers were
admitted to the bar to practice law in
Fountain county. In March, 1830, the
first indictment for murder was re-
turned by a grand jury of Fountain
county. The grand jury was compos-
ed of William Cockran, who lived near
Chambersburg. Samuel Trullinger, of
Davis township, who afterwards went
to Utah with the Mormons; Alex. Lo-
gan, Benjamin Wade, Jacob Bever and
Robert Miller of Cain township; David
Sewell, of Troy township; Jesse Os-
born of Shawnee township; Caleb Ab-
ernathy, of Fulton township; James
Stewart, of Troy township; Stephen
Harper, Samuel Garber, Conrad Wal-
ters, John Ralston and Bennett Seibird.
At this time Edward A. Hannegan was
prosecuting attorney. The petit jury
that had the case consisted of John
Miller, of Cain township; Joshua Sher-
rill, of Logan township: James Orr, of
Shawnee township; Henry Campbell,

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

147

of Davis township, John Helms and
Asa Smith, of Cain township, Eli-
jah Ferguson and Ehodes Smith, of
Fulton township, Abraham Gabriel and
James Shaw, of Jackson township; Job
Orahood, of Wabash township and Hi-
ram Funk, of Davis township. The
man accused of murder was James
Eichardson. The case was tried in the
fall of 1830. Eichardson was found
guilty as charged in the indictment and
sentenced to be hung, which sentence
was duly executed, the man being hung
before a great crowd at Covington. At
this trial Judge John E. Porter pre-
sided and the associate judges were
Lucas Nebeker, of Troy Township, and
Evans Hinton, of Logan township. Lu-
cas Nebeker, in his trial gave orally a
dissenting opinion on the theory that
Eichardson was insane and on account
of his insanity was not responsible for
the act committed. This is perhaps the
first time that this defense was ever
raised by any one on any occasion in a
trial for murder.

Judge John E. Porter served as pres-
ident judge in Fountain county from
1826 to 1838 when he was succeeded by
Judge Isaac M. Naylor who served un-
til 1852. Judge Naylor had fought in
the Battle of Tippecanoe with "William
Henry Harrison and wrote the best ac-
count of the battle ever written.

Lucas Nebeker sers^ed as associate
judge from July 8, 1826 until July 8,
1833. Evans Hinton served as associ-
ate judge from July 8, 1826 until July
8, 1833.

August 28, 1832 Eobert Milford was
elected associate judge in place of Ev-
ans Hinton, his term beginning July 8,
1833 and ending in seven years. John
Corse was elected at the same election

with Mr. Milford on August 28, 1832
and served until August 28, 1834, when
he resigned and Benedict Mgrris was
elected to serve Corse's unexpired
term. The term of Morris began on
July 25, 1840. At the expiration of
the term of Judge Milford, (who was
the great-grandfather of Judge Charles
E. Milford, of Lafayette, and the
grandfather of Eobert Milford of At-
tica), James Orr, the father of B. S.
Orr and E. E. Orr, was elected in his
stead for seven years and served until
July 25, 1847. The associate judge
who was elected to serve this seven
years with Judge James Orr was Steph-
en Eeed, the father of Worth Eeed of
Covington, and the grandfather of Dan
C. Eeed, of Attica. He also served
from July 25, 1840 until July 25, 1847.

By an act of the Legislature ap-
proved January 20, 1830 the first judi-
cial circuit was comprised of Vermilion,
Warren, Parke, Montgomery, Fountain,
Tippecanoe, Carroll, Cass, Clinton and
St. Joseph counties. John E. Porter
was the president judge of all these
counties until 1838 and much other
territory not then organized into coun-
ties was attached to these counties for
judicial purposes.

It was the custom of the attorneys
when John E. Porter and Isaac N. Nay-
lor were president judges of their large
circuits to ride the circuit with the
judges, so all the attorneys in all the
counties presided over by these judges
followed them on horseback from one
county seat to another. The litigants
awaited the arrival of the court and
attorneys and often selected the par-
ticular attorney that they wished to
handle their case after their arrival.

Edward A. Hannegan was elected

148

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

prosecuting attorney for the district
in 1830. This judicial district was
composed of about the same counties
that made the congressional district,
and thru the acquaintance that he
formed while prosecuting attorney he
was elected to congress.

Samuel Fletcher Wood was one of the
last prosecutors to travel a large cir-
cuit with the judge. He was a good
prosecutor, and an orator of more than
local reputation. He was elected pros-
ecuting attorney in 1862 and served
thru the Civil war, and until 1868. He
had a fine education, secured at Asbury
(now DePauw) University and Hlinois
Wesleyan, was naturally brilliant, and
gave much time to study, both legal
and general. He read Greek and Latin
classics in the original and was known
for his culture. At the close of his term
as prosecutor, urged by his friends, he
thought some of running for congress.
A meeting was arranged for him at Pos-
sum Hollow, in Davis township, Foun-
tain county, an out-of-the-way place, off
main traveled roads, but a convenient
juncture of Warren, Fountain and Tip-
pecanoe counties. Some of his friends
thought it a mistake to have the meet-
ing in this isolated spot, but such was
Wood 's reputation as a speaker that be-
tween three and four thousand people
from the three counties attended. He
stirred the enthusiasm of his followers
by his speech, but his congressional as-
pirations seem to have ceased with his
address. Whenever he appeared in a
trial the court room was sure to be
crowded, but he was too diffident to
political preferment to make an effort

for it, or to lend the required assistance.
He was mentioned for foreign posts and
for a senatorship, and the result was
the same. He served in the state senate
and in the Hathaway murder trial he
proved himself quite the equal of Daniel
W. Voorhees in an appeal to the jury.
He won the case from Voorhees, the
the advantages were on the side of the
latter. His speech in this trial added to
liis fame and the older residents of the
county remember it today.

Wood read law with David Davis, of
Bloomington, Illinois, who was judge of
the circuit court over which Lincoln
traveled. When Davis was made a Un-
ited States supreme judge by Lincoln,
he would often write to Wood for
points on constitutional law, in particu-
lar, and would discuss points of law
with him. Wood knew Lincoln, and told
many interesting stories of him and also
of his own law practice in the district
over which he traveled while prosecut-
ing attorney. Wood was regarded as
the successor in oratorical ability to U.
S. Senator Edward Hannegan. Wood
told me that when Dice defeated Han-
negan for representative in the state
legislature, after Hannegan 's notewor-
thy public life, the former political giant
said to him in the dusk of the evening
when the news came to them in the
court house yard ' ' The gloom of this
night is the winding sheet of my po-
litical career." Mr. Wood came from
Southern Cavalier stock. Like many
men of his stock, he had convivial hab-
its and was not ambitious, or he might
have attained to almost any position he
desired.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

149

The "Dolly Varden" Railroad

Soon after the Civil war some for-
ward looker evolved the dream of a
north and south railroad thru the lower
"Wabash Valley, to Attica and thence
north across the prairies to Chicago.
The Toledo and Western (now the Wa-
bash Eailway) had been in operation
only a few years but was prospering and
its building had meant a great devel-
opement along that part of the Wabash
Valley lying above Attica. The route
as planned for the north and south
road began at Newburg, on the Ohio
rivei', in Warrick county, and extended
almost straight northward thru the
Brazil coal fields, Rockville and Attica,
In 1871 and '72 the plans took definite
shape, and an organization was effected.

E. B. Thomas, of Cinciiinati, an ear-
nest temperance advocate and wealthy
man, was the president of the railroad,
and James D. McDonald, of Attica, was
the vice-president. They started build-
ing the road in sections. They began
at Newburg and graded fifteen miles
northward. This part of the road was
never used and neither ties nor rails
were ever laid. They then built the
grade from Bowling Green in Clay
county to within a mile of Rockville,
which I think is in use, and also built
the road from Attica to Veedersburg.

The building of this road from Attica
to Veedersburg was a very interesting
period for Attica. Atticans thought
with the completion of this road that
Attica would become the metropolis of
Fountain and Warren counties and vot-
ed a heavy tax for the construction of

the railroad. The railroad did not
meet the requirements and the tax was
never paid. The promoters succeeded
in making the grade and laying the
rails from Attica to Veedersburg and
had one engine and two trains a day.
A man by the name of Dunlap was
engineer and Frank Mahan was the
conductor on the train and various
young men from around Attica and
Veedersburg served as brakemen and
firemen. The people in the center of
the county had as much hope of this
railroad as did the people of Attica,
and the question was where it would
cross the Indianapolis, Bloomington and
Western railroad (now the Indianapo-
lis-Peoria division of the Big Four sys-
tem), which had gone into operation
that year. Chambersburg was a flour-
ishing little town and Mr. Lucas, a man
of considerable means, was a flourish-
ing merchant of that place, owning
nearly all the surrounding land. Peter
Veeder, a grain merchant of Attica, an
uncle of John T. Nixon and one of the
leading figures and heavy stockholders
in the new road, decided to promote a
town at the crossing of the roads to
bear his own name. He went to Mr.
Lucas and tried to purchase land
enough of Mr. Lucas and to secure his
assistance in making the town at Cham-
bersburg. But Mr. Lucas felt that the
railroad would come there anyway, be-
lieving the land too hilly west of Coal
creek for a town to be built there, and
declined to assist. Mr. Veeder was in
every way fair with Mr. Lucas and told

150

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

him that if he could not arrange to
build the town at Chambersburg he
would build it across the creek. Mr.
Veeder then went to Mr. Keeling, who
owned the land across the creek, and as
the land was hilly and not valuable
for farming, Mr. Keeling was glad of
the opportunity to let it go for a town
site. Mr. Veeder took over the greater
portion of the Keeling holdings, built
an elevator and a hotel which he called
the Keeling House, and a flour mill.
This old hotel still stands and was in
the limelight this year as the scene of
the Goddard murder. When he selected
the site for the town his nephew, John
T. Nixon, was with him. The site chos-
en was a corn field, and Mr. Veeder
began operations immediately, giving
his town the name of Veedersburg.

Peter Veeder came to Attica on a
canal boat about 1850 from Schenec-
tady, N. Y., and engaged in the grain
business. Soon after his arrival he
built an elevator on the canal for hand-
ling grain, this being the old elevator
torn down a few years ago, where the
Waterman lumber yard is located. He
was a bachelor and a very successful
business man, and it was largely thru
the influence of Mr. Veeder and James
D. McDonald that the north and south
railroad was built.

George P. N. Sadler of this city was
the chief engineer in the construction
of the railroad from Attica to Veeders-
burg. One of Sadler's assistants was
a young engineer by the name of Myers
who was quite popular with the girls
in Attica. When he went "sparking"

he had a custom of taking a lantern
with him to be sure he could find his
way home, having some doubt as to the
efficiency of the street lights. Doubt-
less some of the middle aged girls of
Attica remember Mr. Myers and his
lantern.

The project of the road from New-
burg to Chicago failed and afterwards
Henry Crawford, a prominent lawyer in
Chicago, took over the "Dolly Varden. "
It was thru his efforts and the assist-
ance he received from many persons
along the right-of-way that the Chica-
go and Indiana Coal railroad from the
Brazil coal fields to Chicago was con-
structed.

Crawford had a good deal of labor
trouble. He agreed to build round-
houses at Attica and make Attica a di-
vision point, and for this consideration
a sum of money was voted by Logan
township for the construction of the
railroad. He did not carry out his con-
tract in building the round-houses or
making this a division point and this
appropriation was never paid. The
road was put into operation in 1881
but it was heavily handicapped by debt
and a few years later was leased '^o the
Chicago & Eastern Illinois railroad
which still operates it as the Brazil div-
ision of that system. It has never
achieved the prominence that some
other roads have but it has served this
section of the Wabash Valley well and
has been of great value in its develop-
ment, repaying many times over the
years of anxiety and effort put forth
by our citizens.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

151

Attica's Most Illustrious Citizen

The tombstones in the old cemetery
in the southern part of Attica are sil-
ent messengers of many forgotten in-
cidents of interest to the community
and many others as well. Visitors to the
neglected graveyard "where the rude
forefathers of the hamlet sleep" will
note near the northern side a dilapi-
tated iron fence enclosing a tangle of
weeds and briars amid which rise four
marbles stones, one an imposing shaft
that is the largest in the cemetery.
On this stone is chiseled the following
short inscription: "Hannah E., wife
of Doctor John Evans, born at Leban-
on, Ohio, June 9, 1813. Died at
Chicago, 111., Oct. 9, 1850. Perhaps the
three sons buried beside the larger
grave died in Attica but it is recalled
by old residents that the body of Mrs.
Evans was brought overland by wagon
from Chicago to Attica for burial.

The Evans family was at one time
among the leading families of this com-
munity. The woman's husband, Dr.
John Evans, came to Attica from War-
ren county, Ohio, about 1840 with a
very extensive colony of acquaintances
and friends, who settled in Fountain
and Warren counties. He had a good
practice in his profession here and built
the building now occupied as a grocery
by Horace Brant, for an office. He
erected a house on South Perry street
which was removed in 1879 to make
way for the brick residence built by
Charles F. Eobinson and now occupied
by his son.

There being no railroads or water-

ways northward some of the farmers
of this vicinity made occasional trips
to Chicago with a load of products, re-
turning with manufactured goods, pre-
ferring this to the more arduous and
longer trip to New Orleans by flatboat.
These products included packed pork,
whiskey from local distilleries and flour
from local mills. On one of these
trips Dr. Evans joined some of his
farmer friends and was imprest at
once with the possibilities of the grow-
ing city on the lake. His friends con-
sidered him somewhat of a dreamer
when he told them of the great future
in store for Chicago, and listened in-
dulgently to his predictions. He was
indeed a dreamer but he was more
than that. Not content with sitting
around and dreaming he started out
to make his dreams come true. One
day when the spirit of prophecy was
upon him he declared to a group of
his fellow townsmen that before he
died he intended to build a city, found
a college, be governor of a state,
go to the United States senate, make
himself famous and amass a fortune.
We can imagine the loud guffaws with
which this announcement was greeted,
with perhaps a solemn shake of the
head on the part of some who feared
that the bright young doctor was be-
coming mentally unbalanced.

Yet John Evans not only made good
on those very things but accomplisht
many others that brought him wealth
and renown. He it was that launcht
the movement that resulted in the es-

152

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

tablishment of the state hospital for
the insane at Indianapolis and he was
its first superintendent. In the winter
of 1842-3 Dr. Evans got up a petition
asking the state legislature to establish
such an institution. He interested Dr.
Fisher, another Attica physician, and
after they had secured a large number
of signatures they sent it to the legis-
lature. Nothing resulting they renew-
ed the petition at the next session and
placed it in the hands of Dr. C. V.
Jones, of Covington, who had been
elected to the state senate. He intro-
duced it in that body where it was
referred to the committee on education,
where after consideration, a favorable
report was made and the legislature
made an assessment to create a fund
for the purpose. The next year an ap-
propriation was made for money to
create a building and upon its com-
pletion Dr. Evans was made superin-
tendent. He retained the superinten-
dency until 1848, retiring to move to
Chicago to accept a professorship in
Eush Medical College.

While engaged in teaching young
medicos at Eush he began to look about
for something else to find vent for his
active mind and executive ability. Go-
ing up along the north shore twelve
miles from the Chicago river he bought
a body of land and laid out the town
of Evanston, (named for himself), be-
lieving that it would prove a popular
residence place. His judgement was
vindicated by the fact that Evanston
itself has grown to a city of 25,000 and

that Chicago has spread out until it
covers the miles of territory that lay
between them. He made a for-
tune in this and other enterprises and
with part of it establisht Northwestern
University in Evanston and endowed
two chairs in it with $50,000 each. He
took an active part in politics and was
a delegate to the convention that nomi-
nated Lincoln for president. Having
become acquainted with him at Dan-
ville, 111., while living at Attica Dr.
Evans was a strong Lincoln man and
\ oted for him, first, last and all the
time. In 18G2 Lincoln appointed him
territorial governor of Colorado and
ho moved to Denver. There he es-
tablisht the University of Denver, giv-
ing toward its erection the sum of $200,-
000 and afterward settling upon it a
large endowment. He built a railroad
in Colorado and was its president for
a number of years. He was recognized
as the foremost citizen of the state and
was honored by election to the United
States senate. He practically erected
Grace Methodist church in Denver and
aided many educational institutions and
Methodist churches thruout the state.
He died in Denver July 3, 1897 and
was buried there far from the neglected
plot where rests the dust of his first
wife and their three sons. Another
son is still living and is a well known
citizen of Denver.

Judged by his achievements Dr. John
Evans is undoubtedly the greatest man
who ever made his home in Attica.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

153

The Religious Philosophy of the Red Men

The early missionary among the In-
dians had much more intelligent men to
deal with than we usually credit the
Indian with being. The Indian had his
ideas of religion. In a previous article
I quoted from ' ' The Prophet, ' ' brother
of Tecumseh, in which he condemned
the use of whiskey among the Indians,
and insisted that they should fol-
low the religion of their fathers. Such
was the advice of nearly all the chiefs
of importance, in all the various tribes,
and some of their philosophy, from
whatever source it may have been gath-
ered, was far better than that of
the missionary, or the preacher on the
frontier. This sketch more properly
should have been included with those
relating to the Indians, early in the
series, but as it gives such a clear in-
sight into the religious philosophy of
the early inhabitants of the Wabash
Valley I have thought it of enough
value to include here.

In defense of my opening statement
I shall submit the eloquent words of
sober truth, addrest to a missionary,
who desired to convert ' ' Eed Jacket, ' '
a celebrated Seneca chief, who was born
about 1752, near Geneva, New York.
His Indian name was ' ' Sogoyewap-
ha, the name of ' ' Red Jacket ' ' being
given him because of an embroidered
scarf and jacket presented to him by a
British officer during the Revolution-
ary war. During the war of 1812, "Red
Jacket" served on the American side,
and gave good account of himself.

This untutored red man delivered his

remarkable discourse on religion, at a
council of the chiefs of Six Nations,
in the summer of 1805 in answer to
a missionary named Cram who was en-
deavoring to cram his religion down the
throats of the unwilling savages. "Red
Jacket" said:

"It is the will of the Great Spirit
that we should meet this day. He or-
ders all things and has given us a fine
day for our council. He has taken his
garments from before the sun and has
caused it to shine with brightness up-
on us. Our eyes are opened that we are
see clerly; our ears have been unstopt
that we have been able to hear dis-
tinctly the words you have spoken.
For all of the favors we thank the
great spirit and Him only.

' ' Brother, this council fire was kin-
dled by you. It was at your request
that we came together at this time.
We have listened with attention to
what you have said. You requested us
to speak our minds freely. This gives
us joy; for we now consider that we
stand upright before you and can speak
what we think. All have heard your
voice and all speak to you as one man.
Our minds are agreed.

' ' Brother you say you want answer
to your talk before you leave this
place. It is right you should have one,
as you are a great distance from your
home and we do not wish to detain you.
But first we will look back a little and
tell you what our fathers have told us
and what we have heard from the white
people.

154

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

"Brother, listen to what we say.
There was a time when our forefathers
owned this great island. Their seats
extended from the rising to the setting
sun. The Great Spirit had made it for
the use of the Indians. He had created
the buffalo, the deer and other animals
for food. He had made the bear and
the beaver. Their skins served us for
clothing. He had scattered them over
the country and had taught us how to
use them. He had caused the earth to
produce corn for us. All this had he
done for his red children because he
loved them. If we had some disputes
about our hunting grounds they were
generally settled without the shedd-
ing of blood.

"But an evil day came upon us.
Your forefathers crossed the great wat-
er and landed on this island. Their
numbers were small but they found
friends. They called us brothers. We
believed them and gave them a larger
seat. At length their numbers had
greatly increased. They wanted more
land; they wanted our country. Our
eyes were opened and our minds be-
came uneasy. Wars took place. Indi-
ans were hired to fight against Indians
and many of our people were destroyed.
They also brought liquor among us. It
was strong and powerful and has slain
thousands.

"Brother, our seats were once large
and yours small. You have now be-
come a great people and we have scar-
cely a place left to spread our blank-
ets. You have gotten our country, but
are not satisfied; you want to force
your religion upon us.

"Brother, continue to listen. You
are sent to instruct us how to wor-
ship the Great Spirit agreeable to His

mind; and if we do not take hold of
the religion which you white people
teach we shall be unhappy hereafter.
You say that you are right and we are
lost. How do we know that this is to
be true? We understand that your
religion is written in a book. If it was
intended for us as well as you, why has
not the Great Spirit given it to us, and
not only to us, but why did he not give
our forefathers the knowledge of that
book, with the means of understanding
it rightly? We only know what you tell
about it. How shall we know when to
believe, being so often deceived by the
white people?

' ' Brother, you say there is but one
way to worship and serve the Great
Spirit. If there is but one religion,
why do you white people differ so much
about it? Why not all agree, as you
can all read the book?

"Brother we do not understand these
things. We are told that your religion
was given to your forefathers and
handed down from father to son. We
also have a religion which was given to
our forefathers and has been handed
down to us, their children. We wor-
ship in that way. It teaches us to be
thankful for all the favors we receive,
to love each other and to be united.
We never quarrel about religion.

' ' Brother the Great Spirit has made
us all, but he has made a difference
between his white children. He has
given us different complexions and
different customs. To you he has
given the arts. To these he has not op-
ened our eyes. We know these things
to be true. Since he has made so great
a difference between us in other things
why may we not conclude that he had
given us a different religion according

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

155

to our understanding? The Great Spirit
does right. He knows what is best for
his children: we are satisfied.

"Brother, we do not wish to destroy
your religion or take it from you. We
only want to enjoy our own. You say
you have not come to get our land or
our money, but to enlighten our minds.
I will now tell you that I have been
at your meetings and saw you collect
money from the meeting. I cannot tell
what this money was intended for, but
suppose it was for the minister; and if
we should conform to your way of think-
ing you may want some from us.

"Brother, we are told that you have
been preaching to the white people in
this place. These people are our neigh-
bors. We are acquainted with them.
We will wait a little while and see what
effect your preaching has upon them.
If we find it does them good, makes
them honest and less disposed to cheat
Indians, we will then consider what you
have said.

' ' Brother, you have heard our an-
swer to the talk, and this is all we have
to say at present. As we are going to
part, we will come and take you by
the hand, and hope the Great Spirit
will protect you on your journey and re-
turn you safe to your friends. ' '

While ' ' Red Jacket ' ' was giving ser-
vice to the American cause during 1852,
Black Hawk, whose Indian name was
Makataineshekiakish, and Tecumseh
and his brother "The Prophet," were
taking an active part with the British.
And it was he who led the Black Hawk
war in 1832, During this war Black
Hawk with his Indians made a raid on
the frontier settlements almost as far
east as Chicago, and gave the settlers
in Warren, Fountain and Tippecanoe

counties quite a scare. Several hundred
of them gathered at a log house on
what is now the Wm. Clapham farm
east of Attica.

They came from all parts of Warren
and Fountain counties to the cabin on
the Clapham place, and remained there
until the scare was over. After the war
Black Hawk was taken on a journey
thru the Eastern states and dictated a
history of his own life from which I
shall give some quotations as to his
religious views. Black Hawk says:

"For my part, I am of the opinion
that so far as we have reason we have
a right to use it in determining what is
right or wrong and should pursue that
path which we believe to be right. And
believing that whatever is, is right, if
the Great and Good Spirit wished us to
believe and do as the whites, he could
easily change our opinions so that we
would see and think and act as they
do.

' ' We are nothing as compared to his
power and we feel and know it. We
have among us, like the whites, those
who pretend to know the right path
but will not consent to show it with-
out pay. I have no faith in their paths,
but believe that every man must make
his own path.

"We thank the Great Spirit for all
the benefits he has conferred upon us.
For myself I never take a drink of wa-
ter from a spring that I am not mindful
of his goodness.

"I have used all my influence to pre-
vent drunkenness among my people but
without effect, and as the settlements
progrest toward us we became worse
and more unhappy. Many of our peo-
ple instead of going to their old hunt-
ing grounds where game was plentiful

156

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

would go nearer the settlements to hunt.
And instead of saving their skins to
pay the trader for goods furnisht them
in the fall, would sell them to the set-
tlers for whiskey and return in the
spring with their families almost naked,
and without the means for getting any-
thing for them.

' ' My reason teaches me that the land
cannot be sold. The Great Spirit gave
it to his children to live upon and to
cultivate as far as is necessary for
their substance, and so long as they
occupy and cultivate it they have a
right to the soil, but if they voluntarily
leave it, then any other people have a
right to settle upon it. Nothing can
be sold but such things as can be car-
ried away.

' ' The whites brought whiskey into
our villages, made our people drunk,
and cheated them out of their horses,
guns and traps. This fraudulent sys-
tem was carried to such an extent that
I apprehended serious difficulties might
take place unless a stop was put to it,
consequently I visited all the whites
and begged them not to sell whiskey
to my people. One of them continued
the practice openly and I took a party
of my young men, went to his house,
took out his barrel and broke in the
head and poured out the whiskey. I
did this for fear some of the whites
might be killed by my people when
drunk.

' ' Ten men took possession of our
corn fields, prevented us from planting
corn, burned our lodges, ill-treated our
women, and beat to death some of our
men, and this is a lesson for the white
men to learn from us — that our forbear-
ance to injury was such that we did
not offer resistance to this barbarous

cruelty. How smooth must be the lan-
guage of the whites when they can
make right look like wrong and wrong
look like right."

And in speaking of marriage among
the Indians Black Hawk says: "When
our young people have been mated, the
first year is devoted to the purpose of
ascertaining whether or not they can
agree with each other and be happy;
if not, they part and each looks out
again for a congenial companion. If
we were to live together and disagree
we should be as foolish as the whites,
no indescretion can banish a woman
from her parental lodge among the
Indians, and no difference how many
children she may bring home, she and
her children are always welcome and
the kettle is on the fire to feed them."

And in speaking of his wife he says:
"It is not customary for us to say very
much about our women as they gener-
ally perform their part cheerfully and
never interfere with business belonging
to the men. This is the only v/ife I
ever had or ever will have. She is a
good woman, and teaches my boys to
be brave."

And I shall conclude my quotations
from Black Hawk with this summing
up of religious thought: "We can only
judge what is proper and right, by our
standard of right and wrong, which
differs widely from the whites. If I
have been correctly informed the whites
may do bad all their lives and then if
they are sorry for it when about to
die, all is well. With us it is different;
We must continue thruout our lives to
do what we conceive to be good, and if
•we have corn and meat and know of a
family that have none we divide with
them, and if we have more blankets

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

157

than sufficient and others have not
enough we must give to them that
want. ' '

Now Black Hawk was far from being
as great a man as "Red Jacket," Te-
eumseh, Brant, or Logan. It was the
border struggle between the United
States and Great Britain that made his
cause possible. He and his followers
made the last effort of armed resistance

to the establishment of American sov-
ereignty over the Northwest territory
and the Black Hawk war in which Win-
field ,'Scott, Jefferson Davis, Albert
Sydney Johnson, and Abraham Lincoln
took a part, had some influence in shap-
ing the issues of the later and greater
conflict in which Jefferson Davis and
Abraham Lincoln became the chief
actors.

A Mighty Man of Valor

In order to perserve it for future
reference for myself and those of my
family who may be interested I am in-
cluding in this bound volume the fol-
lowing incidents. They do not properly
belong here because they occurred in
Virginia and can be of value in their
relation to the Wabash Valley only as
tending to show from what stock came
the families that settled here and
carved out of the primeval wilderness
the glorious country which we now en-
joy. They concern a Virginia pioneer
named Bingaman, a daughter of whom
was my great-grandmother, and they
first came down to me as family leg-
ends. Recently I found them in an
old volume by Col. Triplett entitled,
' ' Pioneer Heroes and Heroines, ' ' and
he quotes an older Virginia historian
named Kercheval:

When a child about 13 years old,
Bingaman had been taken a prisoner
by the savages and treated with their
usual unkindness and brutality. He
and an older companion had been out
in a canoe, and returning to the shore,

they were dragging the canoe up on the
sand, when two savages rushed out of
the bushes. These quickly tomahawked
and scalped the young man. Then, one
leading and one driving the thirteen-
year-old boy, with threats and blows,
they struck out into the forest, and
rapidly pushed on toward their villages.
By night they had made a distance of
some twenty-five miles, and the boy,
who had been terribly abused on the
march, was utterly worn out.

Even at that age he possessed a de-
termined courage, and while the Ind-
ians were making their preparations to
camp, he was endeavoring to form some
feasible plan of escape. Halting about
half an hour before sunset, one of the
savages had immediately started out in
quest of game, while the other, having
made a fire, lay down upon his blanket,
leaving his rifle standing against a tree
near-by. Seeing that his captor antic-
ipated no danger, young Bingaman at
first determined to possess himself of
the rifle, slay the Indian and flee, but
reflecting that, even if the absent one

158

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

did not hear the report of the rifle and
hasten back, it would be but a short
time until the savage would be upon
his trail, and feeling his inability to
cope with this warrior, he gave up the
idea, and determined to wait until they
had fallen to sleep before attempting
anything.

He knew he must kill both of them,
if he hoped to make good his escape.
On his return to camp, the hunter was
equally as unsuspecting as his compan-
ion, but after supper he proceeded to
bind the lad tightly, and then pass one
end of the cord under the boy 's body
and tied it to his own wrist. Thus se-
cured, and with an Indian on each side
of him, the lad almost regretted not
having carried out his first intention.
After awhile both of the savages were
sound asleep, and Bingaman began tug-
ging at his bonds It seemed to him
that he had been thus engaged for two
or three hours, and had just succeeded
in freeing one hand, when the hunter
awoke. Feigning the soundest sleep,
the boy held the cord tightly in his
hand, and the Indian satisfied by the
groans of the lad, as he jerked the cord,
that his captive was still firmly bound,
turned over and was soon once more
snoring away.

Eeleasing his other hand, the boy
arose, and after rubbing his arms and
wrists to restore their circulation, he
matured his plan. Fearing that if he
used a tomahawk its blow upon one
might awaken the other, he secured
the two rifles, and aiming one at each
of the sleepers, he secured them in rest
with the pieces of rotten wood lying
around. Taking a final sight over the
guns, he laid a tomahawk near at hand
and touched the trigger of each rifle.

Just as the explosion occurred one of
the savages turned, and the load in-
tended for his head took effect in his
shoulder, while the other was instantly
killed.

The wounded one promptly compre-
hended the situation, and seizing the
boy endeavored to draw him to him.
The prudence of young Bingaman in
providing the tomahawk was now re-
warded, for, seizing it, the lad laid blow
after blow upon the yelling Indian, thus
revenging the kicks and cuffs of the
latter, for this one had been extremely
cruel in goading the youthful captive.
The savage was at last dispatcht, and
taking a tomahawk, one of their rifles
and all of their ammunition, the lad
sealpt his enemies as well as he was
able, and made his way home in safety.
Another incident of the prowess of
Bingaman is given: A party of the
whites were pursuing a number of ma-
rauding savages, and had come upon
them just as they were going into camp
for the night. It was hurriedly deter-
mined not to attack until the savages
had gone to sleep, as by that means it
was hoped that all of them might be
killed. The whites dismounted, and
Bingaman was ordered by the captain
to hold the horses, while the others
went ahead to reconnoiter the camp.
Disregarding these orders, Bingaman
pushed on with the rest. The action
was prematurely brought on by an im-
petuous young man firing at an Indian
who was approaching him rather close-
ly-
All was now confusion. The savages
started to flee, and Bingaman, dropping
his rifle, dashed forward in the pursuit.
Singling out a gigantic Indian, he
passed unnoticed several smaller ones.

SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY

159

and reaching his victim, split his skull
with a well-aimed blow. As the others
began to reach him, he cut them down
one by one, and the other whites hav-
ing closely followed the flying enemy,
there were none left, and the combat
ceased. At this point, the captain of
the company, an enemy of Bingaman,
came up to him and thundered out
"Why are you not with the horses,
sirf I ordered you to stay with the
horses. " "I know you did, ' ' said the
giant, scowling upon him with his ter-
rible eyes; "and I knew your object
was to disgrace me, and if I hear one
more word of your insolence, I'll serine
you like that Indian there," and he
pointed to one of his victims.

In the year 1758, this gigantic Vir-
ginian, Bingaman, was the actor in a
savage combat, without a parallel in
the annals of border warfare. At this
time he was living with his family in
a detached cabin, on the present site of
the flourishing little city of Petersburg.
His cabin was at some distance from
the nearest settlement, and Bingaman
was often warned by his neighbors of
the great peril to which his family was
exposed. He was, however, a man of
the greatest strength and activity, and
was absolutely without fear. He
averred that he was perfectly able to
repel any number of the savages that
were likely to assail him, and that he
intended to remain where he was at
all hazards.

His ability to defend himself was put
to its full test that fall, for one night
a party of Indians made a desperate
effort, and forced the door of the cabin,
before Bingaman was aware of their
presence. The cabin consisted of but

two rooms, one on the first floor and
the other upstairs. In the lower room
slept Bingaman, his wife, little son,
and his aged parents; the upper room
was occupied by a hired man. When the
savages entered, they fired a volley
into the room, wounding Mrs. Binga-
man slightly in the left breast, but the
heroic woman would not cry out or com-
plain, for fear it might disconcert her
husband. Calling to his family to get
under the beds, and the hired man to
come to his aid, the former promptly
obeyed, but the latter did not stir.

Discharging his gun at random, for
the room was very dark, he stript off
his only garment, so that the Indians
might not be able to hold him, and club-
bing his gun, began to use it with terri-
ble effect. Certain that his family had
obeyed his command, he struck savagely
at every moving form, and so powerful
were his blows and so great his activity,
that out of the eight assailants, seven
were soon stretched dead, or dying, up-
on the floor of the cabin, which now
looked like a slaughter house, piled
with its bloody victims. Several times
the Indians grappled with him during
his terrific struggles, but, owing to his
precaution in removing his shirt, were
unable to hold him. The eighth Indian,
glad to escape from the blows of the
giant borderer, fled howling from the
scene.

When morning came, Bingaman dis-
covered that his wife had been wound-
ed, and so great was his anger at the
craven part played by the hired man,
that it was with the greatest difficulty
he could be prevailed on, by his wife,
not to shoot him.

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